My Journey to Become a Certified Holistic Health Practitioner ... And Why I'm Passionate About Helping Moms Navigate Childhood Apraxia of Speech

I started out like most of us — doing everything I was told, trusting, and never questioning the system. Although I ate pretty healthy, I didn’t hold my children to the same standards. They had all the usual kid junk food we are conditioned to believe is acceptable. At the time, my belief pattern was: They are children — young, strong, and healthy. What could possibly go wrong?

When my oldest son, Luke, was two, he developed severe asthma, and had to take breathing treatments along with oral steroids. I was working full time and life was a series of holding my breath until the next episode came. The next trip to the ER. The next sleepless night, strapping my body around his while he screamed, forcing him to suck in the Albuterol mist.

He was one of the first kids to take Singulair before it had a black-box warning. Although this medication stopped the wheezing, it also turned him into an overly rambunctious four-year-old. A year later, I took him off all meds and although he had gut issues for a while, he never had asthma again.

When Luke started kindergarten, I got pregnant again. By this point, I had quit work and was a stay-at-home mom. I didn’t eat quite as healthy when I was pregnant this time, and although I gained 60+ pounds, I had a smooth pregnancy and delivery.

Again, I was trusting of the system and had “the works” at the hospital: the doctor manually broke my water, I took Pitocin to induce labor, an epidural, and gladly accepted narcotics to take the edge off. Twenty-four hours later, I was wheeled out with a fresh, new, squeaky-clean baby we named Jake.

Around three months old, Jake's skin became inflamed and itchy. I remember thinking maybe he was allergic to the sun because he would break out in hives every time he went outside. After taking him to the doctor, he was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis (eczema). He was prescribed a steroid cream, which he would continue for the next couple of years.

Although it would clear up for a bit, it would always come back, progressively getting worse. His feet were always the worst and the severity broke my heart.

When Jake was nine months old, I gave him a bite of eggs and he broke out in hives. Then came the ear infections and mild asthma. During this time, antibiotics, breathing treatments, and Benzocaine ear drops were our norm. At age two, he was diagnosed with allergies to eggs and peanuts. Life was really hard.

Recommended eczema treatment had progressed to bleach baths followed by steroid cream on his legs, feet, and ankles that were wrapped in saran plastic wrap at bedtime. For added benefit, I was told to put hot, wet pajamas on him for maximum medication absorption. “How will he be able to sleep?” I asked. “That sounds miserable.” The doctor reassured me that it was no big deal. I did it one night, but felt too bad to do it again.

At this time, a few things pushed me over the edge and stirred me into researching alternate healing paths:

• The standard, suggested route of medical care was making him worse, not better.


• Since he had been on steroid cream since he was three months old, it had stopped working. He was prescribed a stronger cream with a black-box cancer warning. 


• A dermatologist told me, “This kid is allergic to the world. He will be on medication for the rest of his life.”


• My pediatrician was insistent that Jake get the flu shot, but didn’t want to do it in his office because of his allergies. He said, “If the flu shot causes him to go into anaphylactic shock because of his egg allergy, he needs to be at the allergist’s office.” I thought it made more sense to risk getting the flu vs. risk going into anaphylactic shock. 


A couple of months after Jake's second birthday, I made an appointment with a naturopathic doctor. He went on a food elimination diet for three months, and ate fruits, veggies, and protein. He also took a probiotic and quercetin.

The food elimination diet was like pressing a reset button on his system. The eczema and asthma didn’t go away completely, but improved dramatically. His ear infections tapered off. He continued eating clean, only eliminating his allergies to peanuts and eggs.

I thought things were getting better, but then he started having more allergic reactions. By the time Jake was three, he was diagnosed with eight food allergies: eggs, peanuts, some tree nuts, gluten, dairy, fin fish, some shellfish, and pineapple.

Life got harder and more stressful. Having a child with this many allergies felt like I was walking through a mine field every day.

Also at age three, he was diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). He was already in speech therapy, but at this point, his apraxia treatment increased to therapy two times a week plus targeted work at home every day.

Once I got this diagnosis, I started researching like crazy and stumbled upon the research study on apraxia, led by Dr. Claudia Morris and Dr. Marilyn Agin. The results of the study suggested that the root cause of apraxia of speech in children could be gluten sensitivity + nutritional deficiencies + omega 3 and/or vitamin E deficiency. The stats impressed me – 97% of 187 children showed some level of improvement with supplementation.


A month before Jake's fourth birthday in August of 2012, he had an appointment with Dr. Taz, a reputable, integrative MD in Atlanta. After a thorough check up and seven vials of blood, I found out he was severely deficient in all vitamins and minerals. His omega 3,6, and 9 levels were a little off, but nothing extreme. His amino acid levels were all over the place. He tested negative for celiac disease.

At this time, Jake began eating a gluten and dairy free diet, and supplementing with probiotics, glutamine (an amino acid that aids digestion), quercetin, CoQ10, and B vitamins. He also responded amazingly well to acupuncture. He continued on with his speech therapy regime of two times a week.

Each day his health and speech improved. Three months after beginning his treatment plan, he was speaking in basic sentences, able to correct his errors, engage in spontaneous conversation, and look at a picture and tell you what it was. This was huge!

Nine months later, his errors were consistent and age appropriate. At this time, he also went to Foundations Developmental House in Arizona for four days of intensive speech therapy. A few months later at 5 years, 2 months old, he dropped his apraxia diagnosis.

Jake continued on with a clean, gluten and dairy free diet for the next couple of years, and had no additional speech or learning problems. When he was 12, he began treatment with a nutrition response testing practitioner who assisted me with his food allergies. I gradually added back his allergens, with the help of homeopathic remedies, digestive enzymes, Betaine HCl, and Reiki to calm his stress/fear response.

He is now free from all of his allergies with the exception of fish. This allergy will require a more robust desensitization process. My plan is to do either specialized chiropractic care or BioSet. My goal is to have this allergy eliminated by the time he graduates high school ... especially since fishing is one of his favorite hobbies!

Not only did I get real-life education and experience during these thirteen years, but I also got to witness the miraculous healing power of the body. At first I thought I'd just go on about my life ... maybe get back into IT or put my journalism degree to use and write full time. But then I realized I had changed and could never go back to the person I was before.

I started taking classes on the things that interested me the most in Jake's healing journey. Four years later, Simply Holistic Solutions was created. I'm excited to step into this next chapter in my life and look forward to connecting with moms who are going through similar struggles with their children.

I'd love to hear more about your child's story. Where are you at in your own journey with apraxia? Does your child have additional symptoms or diagnoses other than apraxia of speech?