Host Laura Smith and Apraxia Foundation president Jordan Levan sit down with Nicole Kolenda, a clinical researcher at the NYU Motor Speech Lab with over 25 years of experience treating childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Nicole shares her journey from undergrad fascination with apraxia to her current role as the lead treatment SLP on an NIH-funded study examining DTTC (Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing).

The conversation covers the evolution of CAS diagnosis and treatment over the past three decades and Jordan's personal experience growing up with apraxia, and the ongoing need to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice. Nicole introduces the STRIVE framework — a goal-setting tool developed at the NYU Motor Speech Lab to help clinicians select meaningful, individualized therapy targets. Each letter represents a key consideration: Syllable structure, arTiculatory transitions, Response to multisensory cueing, phonetic Inventory, Vowel errors, and lexical strEss (emphasis).

Nicole emphasizes the importance of "making the shift" from thinking about speech sounds to thinking about movement, incorporating principles of motor learning, finding each child's challenge point, and selecting functional, motivating words. The STRIVE framework is available for free on the NYU Motor Speech Lab Instagram page.

You can email Nicole directly at [email protected]