KARAH SMITH (SHE/HER) MS CCC-SLP, CO-OWNER

Speech-Language Pathologist, RYT-200

Hi there, I’m Karah!

I’ve been a speech-language pathologist for 10 years. I received my undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders from Penn State University and my masters degree in speech and hearing sciences from The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. 

I spent the first few years of my career supporting adults with neurological conditions that impacted their speech, language, and swallowing skills. I slowly became burdened by seeing my clients at the end of life, and I transitioned to working with young children instead. I thought about my own experience as a child with a speech and language disorder and social communication differences. I dreaded being pulled out of my preschool classroom each week. I felt ‘othered’ because I was the only child pulled from the classroom and my peers made fun of me. I never wanted another child to feel the way I did.  That’s why my core practice as a speech therapist is building and maintaining a strong relationship with a child so they trust me and feel safe to take communication risks with me.
 
In 2018, I co-opened Sprouted Roots as a part-time passion project, and love having the opportunity to support children and their grown-ups without the restrictions that come along with working in public education in the United States. I received my registered yoga teacher and children’s yoga teacher certification the same year. I began blending speech therapy and yoga as a way to engage children and support their learning. 

I have the following additional certifications:  Yoga Calm (Youth and RYT-200), & Child and Adolescent Trauma-Informed Professional, and I have completed the Authentic AAC and Meaningful Speech courses. As an autistic-ADHD SLP, I thrive when having the freedom to combine my creativity and passions to develop unique solutions to best support neurodivergent children. Outside of work, I enjoy nature photography, design work, and playing video games.

 Meet Our Team

LEAH TOTTEN (SHE/HER) MS CCC-SLP, CO-OWNER

Speech-Language Pathologist

Hello and welcome, I’m Leah!

My path to becoming a speech-language pathologist was somewhat unconventional. I received my Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Occidental College in Los Angeles and went on to earn a Master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in developmental psychology, specializing in early cognitive development. But after deciding my true passion was to make a direct impact on children’s lives, I entered the Master’s degree program in communicative disorders at the California State University, Northridge while simultaneously working as a special education instructional assistant in Beverly Hills.

Since graduating in 2008 with a Master of Science in Communicative Disorders, I have been lucky enough to work in a variety of settings with children. My experience includes providing outpatient speech and language therapy at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, serving as a member of the aforementioned Craniofacial and Cleft Palate Team, providing speech and language therapy in families’ homes and in rural schools in Northern California, teaching preschool speech and language groups, consulting to educational teams providing specialized services to children with varying abilities, and conducting multidisciplinary evaluations for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

I have specialized training in the following areas: Yoga Calm (Youth), PROMPT Level One, Simon Says OMT, ADOS-2 administration, and Trauma Informed Care. My current passion is learning more about neurodiversity, Natural Language Acquisition, and Gestalt Language Processing. Outside of work, I enjoy reading, drawing, and camping.