Amaris Lansford thought she wanted to be a teacher but upon embarking on her college career, she changed her goal of becoming a Speech Language Pathologist. Speech Therapy allowed her to work in smaller settings than a class and give her the opportunity to work with students who struggle with disabilities.

After achieving her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Amaris furthered her education in postgraduate studies and received her Master’s Degree in Communicative Disorders. She spent 10 years working within the school system of Vandenberg Airforce Base where she honed her skills helping children overcome communication obstacles. Two years ago, Amaris and her family moved to Paso Robles, where she worked in the school system.

Amaris wanted to start her own business, a goal that she admits seemed beyond her reach until she discovered through her research the high demand for SLPs. 

“There is a big need in this area for private SLPs,” she said.

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In June, she hung out her shingle and became a full-time business owner. Working for the school system as an SLP, Amaris said that finding a place to have a session could be challenging. Now, working from her home office, she finds that her clients appear to respond better to the comfortable and relaxed surroundings. She also noted that working from home helps her manage the responsibilities of being a parent and as well as a small business owner.

In today’s medical field, speech therapy covers a host of ailments that inhibit communication, from how sounds are formulated to receptive and expressive vocabulary. Amaris focuses the majority of her practice on helping children with mild to severe speech sound errors and fluency, also known as stuttering, and working with children with autism.

Pediatricians have lists of milestones for child development that help educate parents as to where their child should be in his or her stage of growth and maturity. Some kids crawl sooner than others and some kids talk sooner as well but Aramis welcomes calls from concerned parents.

“I definitely encourage parents to call me,” Amaris said. “I am a sole practitioner. I run everything from start to finish, so I would definitely be the best person to be able to tell you whether or not I felt they should be evaluated.”

For more information about Amaris’ practice, visit PasoSpeech.com or call 805-202- 9229.