High 5 Speech Therapy

03/07/2026

03/01/2026

02/12/2026

THIS!

02/09/2026

Yes yes yes! This!!

02/09/2026

Join us on Monday for this week’s Fun Foundations classes - it will be absolutely LOVE-ly - with a Valentine's craft, sensory activities, giant shapes + Valentine's inspired singing, reading and signing!! 💕

❤️Singing 💜Reading ❤️
💜Body Movement ❤️ Sensory Play 💜
❤️ Valentine’s Craft 💜

Monday 2/9 in Holland at 9:30

Perfect for kids 8-36 months, and older/younger siblings are welcome to join on the same pass. Spark your child’s inner imagination and play alongside them….or sit back and watch them play with new friends! 👫

Classes are designed + taught by pediatric speech therapist and owner of High 5 Speech Therapy, Miss Emily

RSVP at https://www.high5speechtherapy.com/class-schedule--rsvp.html

02/06/2026

Yes! All of this! As a parent of a child with apraxia, I know that it takes a very special therapist to work with apraxia! 

🚨 PARENTS! IF YOU ONLY READ ONE OF MY POSTS, PLEASE READ THIS ONE. 🚨

As a child, I was labeled ‘nonverbal.’ I didn’t speak in words until I was eight years old… not because I couldn’t understand, not because I wasn’t trying, but because no one was using the correct approach. Once they did, I began speaking in words. I have childhood apraxia of speech (CAS).

Parents, not every Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) understands apraxia of speech. And that gap in knowledge can change the entire trajectory of a child’s life.

Let me tell you a story. Keeping this 100% anonymous, I attended an IEP meeting (my day job is an IEP Advocate) for a student with CAS. While discussing the child’s needs, the SLP asked, “Will the student be able to understand this?”

I paused and said, “I’m sorry… what does understanding have to do with apraxia?”

The SLP then asked whether the child understood things because he doesn’t speak, or if apraxia only affects speech.

My heart sank. This is a major misconception, and it was coming from a professional. I’ve also seen situations where an SLP implied that speaking was a choice for a child with CAS. It is not. But this isn’t about shaming professionals, it’s about educating and advocating. So I calmly explained what apraxia of speech actually is, how it’s treated, and why individuals with CAS understand EVERYTHING you say.

So parents, I want you to ask these questions… both to your school-based SLP and your private SLP:

- “What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?”

- “What do you know specifically about CAS?”

- “What methods do you use for CAS?”
(If they say it varies by child, ask what apraxia-specific methods they’re trained in.)

- “Have you completed additional training in apraxia of speech?”

Yes, quiz them. You are allowed to. You must. CAS requires a motor-planning approach because it is a neurological motor speech disorder. Phonological approaches do NOT treat apraxia of speech. Period. If your SLP does not understand this, your child is not getting appropriate therapy.

Your child is listening. Your child understands, and make sure the professionals around them do too.

Love,

- Jordan Christian LeVan 💙

01/29/2026

01/22/2026