05 Nov Welcoming Brooke Rea to the Apraxia Kids Professional Advisory Council

Apraxia Kids is honored to welcome Brooke Rea to our Professional Advisory Council. Our PAC helps shape the educational offerings we provide in countless valuable ways, from advising research funding decisions to making suggestions for website content. These are among the most esteemed therapists and researchers in the CAS community, and it is our pleasure to introduce Brooke Rea into their ranks.

Brooke Rea is a Canadian pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist. She owns a private centre in Guelph, Ontario, which is exclusively dedicated to assessing, treating and supporting children with Motor Speech Disorders including Childhood Apraxia of Speech. She spends considerable time supporting and teaching professionals and parents on their journeys with CAS, throughout Ontario and Canada. She is a graduate of the Apraxia Kids Intensive Training Institute (Boot Camp, 2014) and is Apraxia Kids Recognized for Advanced Training and Expertise in Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Brooke has lectured at numerous university and college programs and has been an invited speaker at conferences and workshops across Canada to speak about Childhood Apraxia and pediatric motor speech disorders. In addition, Brooke also provides clinical supervision and support to students and SLPs working with CAS. Brooke is a licensed speech-language pathologist with the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario (Canada) and a Certified SLP with Speech-Language & Audiology of Canada.

Her desire to work closely with children with apraxia stems from her first client to be diagnosed with CAS – a case that was both complex and rewarding, and ultimately sparked a life-long interest in apraxia.

Brooke learned of Apraxia Kids by shadowing Nancy Kaufman in Michigan, and quickly became enveloped in all things childhood apraxia of speech after consuming the various articles and webinars on the Apraxia Kids website. She then applied for Apraxia Kids Boot Camp which sparked her interest to give back to the apraxia community. Brooke recalls of her time at boot camp, “Apraxia Kids Boot Camp was life changing for me. Literally. It changed the trajectory of my career. It gave me confidence back home as an SLP to advocate harder, question more critically, encourage and build others up as a community and network, and sharpen my skills as a clinician. Since then, I’ve become passionate about all things Apraxia Kids in order to give back by sharing knowledge, support and resources, and importantly, help connect families, kids and professionals alike in our communities in relation to Apraxia.”

Brooke continues to give back to her community in various ways years later. She coordinated the Guelph Walk for Apraxia until 2018 continues to be an avid supporter of this local event. She helps facilitate the Apraxia Kids Canada support group on Facebook to support parents and professionals in their journey with CAS. She has provided education through the Ontario Professional and Parent Education Network for Childhood Apraxia of Speech (OPPEN CAS), as well as presented at Apraxia Kids National Conferences. In 2020, she will be an instructor at the first-ever Canadian Apraxia Kids Boot Camp. She is helping raise awareness of childhood apraxia of speech across Canada, and works closely with a group of volunteers that are sure to make a significant impact in how CAS is affecting Canadian families in the years to come.

When asked what it means to her to join the Professional Advisory Council, Brooke states, “It is an honour. To sit amongst the brightest minds in the rarified field that is CAS, I consider it a gift to be able to absorb their knowledge and philosophy. To be asked to represent Canada and to be given an opportunity to share Canadian issues with my mentors and the researchers shaping the landscape is a responsibility I take seriously and with pride.”

Welcome Brooke and thank you for your continued service!