Meet Rachel Terrell M.S. CCC-SLP, CBIS | Owner, Speech-language pathologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Terrell M.S. CCC-SLP, CBIS and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I wanted to do it all under one roof. I was working for multiple companies, in various settings simultaneously to provide care to my favorite populations of patients. I enjoyed inpatient rehabilitation for adults and outpatient care for pediatrics. I originally created Rooted Therapies to utilize my brain injury specialist certification and treat across the lifespan. Since opening Rooted Therapies, I have niched down to provide language and swallowing therapy to autistic and brain injured children. Rooted Therapies is now the go-to speech therapy provider for children who benefit from a play-based approach using sensory integration and visual communication methods.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I initially became interested in speech pathology when I was nannying the baby girl across the street. She received intense feeding, swallowing, and speech intervention. This inspired me to receive my degree in Communication Disorders. While attending graduate school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I was steeped into the Deaf community and became enthralled in American Sign Language (ASL). I pride myself on providing alternative communication modalities for all children, whether they are neurotypical or neurodivergent. The visual communication modalities I use most are ASL, Proloquo and LAMP. The latter two are speech generating devices (SGD) frequently used by non-speaking autistic children, however, anyone can benefit from visual supports. I believe providing access to communication methods in a play-based approach leads to the greatest success of my patients. There was a big shift in the way I saw and treated my autistic patients. I always had a passion for helping autistic individuals but my therapeutic techniques have changed drastically. During my career, I worked alongside and co-treated with fabulous physical and occupational therapists. Working as a team, I learned to implement gross motor movements, sensory integration and regulation strategies into my sessions. In order to provide effective therapy, a child’s sensory system has to be near equilibrium. Achieving equilibrium can mean we swing, run, crawl through tight spaces, take deep breaths, or sit in the dark for a few minutes before starting the real work, play! This means, I no longer provide sessions sitting calmly at a table, asking them to stop stimming or fidgeting. Instead, I provide therapy using a strength-based approach to build on the strengths and interests of each child in play, providing language input in naturalistic contexts. I have learned shifting to play-based methods and holistic treatment is the best care for my patients and the way autistic children deserve to be treated.
Parents, my take-away for you, not all therapists are created equal. We all have the same initials behind our name but that doesn’t mean we have experience and competence in the specific area your child needs support in. For example, if you came to me with concerns that your child stutters, I would refer you to someone else. I encourage parents to interview the therapist that will be treating their child and ensure the therapist’s skill set aligns with the type of care you want for your child.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I recently had a friend come down from Oklahoma for a weekend visit Both of us loving running and dancing, so we started off Friday night in the Stockyards. First was dinner at Coopers Old Time BBQ Pit and followed it with two stepping at The Cantina Cadillac. Saturday morning, we ran the 10k in the Cowtown Marathon race series. Celebrating a race PR for both of us, we headed over to Fort Brewery for post-race brunch and beers, they have the cutest Texas beer flight and their appetizers are delicious. The rest of the weekend was spent shopping and hanging out around the house. If we had more time, we would have added 18 holes at Fossil Creek, a trip to the Perot museum, Six Flags, or a Rangers game if the season had started.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There were two incredible people that contributed to the successful launch of Rooted Therapies, Cody Jefferson, from Embrace the Lion, and Marcia Church from Pediatric Speech Stars. Cody, a entrepreneur and business coach, donated his time to develop and strategize Rooted Therapies from a name to a tangible LLC. Marcia, a private practice owner and experienced speech-language pathologist provided valuable information and next steps regarding the provider-side of owning a private practice. Amber Tice, a wonderful branding photographer, elevated my brand and website with professional photos.

Website: www.rootedtherapies.com

Instagram: @rootedtherapiestx

Facebook: Rooted Therapies

Other: email: hello@rootedtherapies.com

Image Credits
Amber Tice Photo