Mother Owned Business Spotlight: Wonder Speech Therapy

Fourteen years in the field, twelve and a half of them at the same company- and it still took a leap of faith to build something of her own. Meet Lauren Edwards, a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and founder of Wonder Speech Therapy, a DFW private practice built on the belief that families deserve more time and flexibility than the traditional system usually allows.

Lauren's path moved through public schools, a school for kids with learning differences, and a brief stint at another practice before she decided to build her own. Along the way, she became a mother of two- an experience that reshaped how she practices therapy today.

Lauren taught us so much in this interview. “Speech therapy is so much more than fixing a lisp or an ‘R’ sound,” as she explained. We left our conversation with a greater appreciation for the social and communication skills these professionals teach our kids.

At Mother, we believe mothers raise our families and our communities, but they also raise our potential. They are the heartbeat of DFW- our culture, our commerce, our teachers.

The Mother Owned Business Interview Series

Our Mother Owned Business Spotlight series lifts up the women who nurture and build our Dallas-Fort Worth community, both personally and professionally. 

In this installment, our Marketing Manager Matthew Silkwood sits down with Lauren Edwards, M.S., CCC-SLP, owner of Wonder Speech Therapy, to talk public school burnout, a mentor who changed her path, and why she believes early intervention changes everything.

Meet Lauren Edwards of Wonder Speech Therapy

Matthew Silkwood: Tell me about your journey to owning a business. What were you doing before this?

Lauren Edwards: I've been practicing for 14 years. My first year was at Lake Highlands Elementary in Richardson ISD, and being thrown into public school as a new grad was tough- so much bureaucracy, so much pressure. Case loads have basically doubled since I started.

Therapists get pulled for bus duty, lunch duty, even jewelry making with kids. Speech therapists and the special education team are pulled in so many different directions with the amount of paperwork, meetings and evaluations that need to be done as well. As a 24-year-old, it was worrisome- the kids who needed services weren't always getting them.

Matthew Silkwood: That doesn’t sound like what you expected. Did anyone have a big impact on your renewed commitment to speech therapy?

Lauren Edwards: I stayed close with my fourth-grade teacher, Miss Carrier, until she passed away when I was 20. She was very wise. At that time, she saw that teachers were unpaid and under-appreciated. I am so glad I went to graduate school for speech therapy, because it gave me the ability to help children with a wide range of communication issues.

She told me, "I love that you love working with kids- find a specialization." That's why I went into speech therapy- a way to keep working with kids while specializing in something specific.

The Path to Private Practice

Matthew Silkwood: So you were in the school system. What made you say, “Maybe I should open my own practice?”

Lauren Edwards: My practice is only about 13 months old. After Richardson ISD, I went to Shelton- the largest school in the world for kids with learning differences like dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD. I was a group speech therapist there for 12 and a half years, surrounded by 25 other therapists on staff. It felt like family. Leaving was extremely hard.

Matthew Silkwood: What led you to leave?

Lauren Edwards: A few things converged- our summer hours changed, I went from salary to hourly, and I had a 45-minute commute starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 5:30. Hard as a mom. 

I got a position at The Housson Center covering someone’s maternity leave for five months. I learned how to use the practice software and run a business. I also got to know a wonderful group of professionals.

I learned so much, and I said to myself, ‘This is great, but I think I can do it better on my own.”

There were a lot of sleepless nights, to be honest. 

Balancing DFW Motherhood and Business

Matthew Silkwood: Did becoming a mom change your approach?

Lauren Edwards: Becoming a mom completely changed the way I see my work. My son is six and a half, and my daughter is three. Once I had kids, I understood so much more of what parents are going through. Every child is facing unique challenges and every parent is doing the best they can. 

Many of the clients I work with are struggling with many different things- academically, socially.

I'm a more patient, more holistic therapist now- I see the whole kid, not just the diagnosis. Parents feel more comfortable opening up to me because I'm a mom of two. We're in it together.

Matthew Silkwood: How has the business itself changed family life?

Lauren Edwards: It's been amazing. My kids are at two different schools, and now I can actually be there- a Thanksgiving party at one, field day at the other. Before, I'd get home at 6:15 with two exhausted kids, running on empty. Now there's real work-life balance- time to grocery shop, to just do the normal things a lot of parents with rigid full-time jobs never get to.

Building Wonder Speech Therapy

Matthew Silkwood: What made the biggest difference getting it off the ground?

Lauren Edwards: My husband, first. He's a CPA who's done his own startups, and he handled the website, the LLC, the insurance. He knew my dream was to start a private practice- we talked about it for weeks on end.

I asked him, “Will you help me get it off the ground?” He and I made the leap in May of 2025, and it’s been amazing.

Reaching out to other private practice owners mattered just as much- an informal network of us trading advice.

One of the most encouraging moments: three former clients from Shelton tracked me down after I opened my own practice. Kids I'd seen at three or four, now I'm seeing at ten. That felt like real validation. 

Marketing myself felt uncomfortable at first- introducing myself to local daycares, private schools, speaking at events for parents at inclusive play places, such as Rock the Spectrum and Rowan's Clubhouse. But it's a muscle you build.

What Lauren Is Most Proud Of

Matthew Silkwood: What part of your work are you proudest of?

Lauren Edwards: The rapport I've built with each family. Since it's my own business, I feel even more responsibility to go above and beyond. Detailed session notes, and five minutes with parents after every session on exactly how to support it at home. Therapy can feel like a black box to parents. I don't want that.

I had one client graduate in just eight months, working on a lisp- the fastest I've ever seen. And because I'm in people's homes, I've caught things I wouldn't have otherwise, like a sibling who needed occupational or play therapy.

Advocating for Early Intervention

Matthew Silkwood: What do you wish more parents understood about speech therapy?

Lauren Edwards: That speech therapy is so much more than fixing a lisp or an "R" sound. It covers social communication- turn-taking, reading a room- along with receptive and expressive language and auditory processing.

I also guide parents through the evaluation process. Early Childhood Intervention before age three, and free public school evaluations from three to eighteen. A lot of people don't know those options exist. And I really believe in acting early: your tongue is a muscle, and speech patterns get ingrained. Start at six and it's a much shorter road than waiting until eight or nine. 

My advice: don't wait for the system to tell you it's time. Early intervention is key. Whether it’s with a little talker at 18 months old, a child with Autism or a straightforward speech impediment.

Advice for the Next Mom Considering the Leap

Matthew Silkwood: What would you tell another mom thinking about starting her own business?

Lauren Edwards: Put yourself out there. Talk to people who've already done it. There's real value in getting years of experience first before you strike out on your own. It's scary, and you have to believe in your abilities. 

The most help I've gotten has come from other mom professionals. Build that network- other therapists, teachers, learning specialists, even school front-office staff. You need those relationships to really help these families and build a good rapport.

Mother Loves ‘Momtrepreneurs’ Like Lauren Edwards

Lauren's practice is proof that the best businesses grow out of paying close attention. To a kid who needs more time, a family that needs a straight answer, a sibling nobody else noticed. 

That kind of care doesn't scale in a system built around case loads and clocks, so she built her own system instead. We're grateful for mothers like Lauren, who take what they know and turn it into something DFW families can actually lean on.

If you know a DFW business driven by a remarkable mother, tell us about her! She might appear as the next subject of our interview series.