Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Scarlett.
Hi Katherine, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, and honestly, my path to becoming an SLP wasn’t what anyone would’ve predicted. I was a dancer first. That’s what I loved: movement, helping people through their bodies. I thought I was going to be a physical therapist. But then I got introduced to American Sign Language, or ASL, through my church, and something shifted.
I volunteered at a Deaf summer camp for six years. And that’s when everything changed. While working with those kids, I realized that communication, real and direct communication, was what actually mattered. It wasn’t just movement or therapy as a box to check.
What I mean by that is getting real access, real understanding.
And honestly, that experience stuck with me.
I eventually studied speech-language pathology and worked at Gallaudet University, which is the world’s only university built specifically for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. That was a huge step for me. And over time, I started to notice something that bugged me, something that needed to change: families who were fighting for access to the SLP world.
Parents who couldn’t talk to their kids in the kids’ language.
Schools without resources.
Insurance that wouldn’t cover what families actually needed.
So I started Crowned with Confidence.
I couldn’t keep watching people struggle when I had the skills to help. And now, looking at how fast things are moving and how many families we’ve helped build their confidence in communicating, I’m so proud of what we’re doing.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s rare to see a business that runs smoothly from day one, and honestly, mine definitely didn’t.
Building Crowned with Confidence has tested me in ways I didn’t expect.
The hardest part wasn’t the clinical work itself because that’s what I’m trained to do. The real challenge was learning how to actually run a business while still showing up as a clinician. I found myself trying to do everything at once: seeing clients, managing staff, handling finances, marketing, business development. Wearing that many hats doesn’t make you impressive or heroic. It just makes you burned out. I’m still working on that balance, to be completely honest.
Then there’s the system we operate in. Insurance companies deny claims constantly. Schools don’t have budgets for specialized services, especially not for ASL-based therapy. Parents get told to “wait and see” when their kid is missing the most critical window for language development. Advocating for families means fighting the system while also trying to deliver quality care, and that weight gets real heavy sometimes.
On a personal level, I had to completely shift how I thought about self-care. I used to believe that taking breaks or prioritizing my own wellbeing was selfish, like I was abandoning my clients or my business. What I learned the hard way is that belief just leads to burnout, and burned out clinicians can’t help anyone. Now I schedule wellness days. I take actual breaks. Not because I’m working less, but because I can’t do this work effectively if I’m running on empty.
Every single obstacle has made me stronger and more intentional about why I do this. When things get difficult, and they will, I always go back to my core reason: families deserve access to communication in their own language. That’s what keeps me going.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Crowned with Confidence Speech-Language Therapy?
I started Crowned with Confidence because I kept watching families and individuals struggle to communicate directly with the people they love, and I knew I could change that. We’re a private practice specializing in speech-language therapy, American Sign Language, and communication advocacy. We work with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, but we also serve anyone who wants to learn ASL or improve their communication skills, from birth through adulthood.
What sets us apart is honestly pretty simple but not common. I’m fluent in ASL, and I understand the Deaf community from living and working inside it, not from the outside looking in. Most speech therapists, when they work with Deaf individuals, they use an interpreter. The communication gets translated to them, and something always gets lost in translation. There’s always a middleman between the person and the care they’re receiving. When someone comes to us, I sign directly to them without any intermediary. They understand exactly what I’m saying, and I understand them completely, which changes everything about the quality of care and connection.
We work across Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Florida, and our services happen in clinics, schools, homes, and online. We work with individuals from newborns through adults because communication matters at every stage of life. We also teach ASL to families, professionals, and anyone who wants to actually communicate in sign language instead of waiting around for someone else to translate for them. That matters to me because people shouldn’t have to depend on an interpreter just to talk to the people in their life.
What I’m most proud of is the confidence we build in the people we work with, and I mean real confidence, not the performative kind. I’m proud that our name actually means something. Crowned with Confidence represents the belief that every single person deserves to feel empowered in their ability to communicate, whether that’s through speech or signs or whatever works for them.
We’re not just a therapy provider. We’re advocates and educators and partners for individuals and families on their communication journey because communication should be a right, not a privilege. That’s the change we’re trying to make, and I wake up every day excited about that work.
You can find us at cwcspeech.com, or connect with us on Instagram/Facebook and LinkedIn at @cwcspeech.
If you have questions, reach out to katie@cwcspeech.com.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
If you’ve ever met a kid who basically couldn’t sit still, that was me growing up in Fort Lauderdale.
And I believe that is why my parents probably paid for dance classes just to give themselves a break.
I was obsessed with dancing and got really hard on myself about being the best.
I still have that intensity, but at least now I recognize it’s not healthy to be at war with yourself all the time.
Outside of dance, I was always the person who wanted to help others. I watched my parents show up for people and for their community, and that stuck with me. I wasn’t going to be the type to just watch from the sidelines. If someone needed something or if there was a way I could make someone’s life better, I was going to show up for that, even if it meant taking on their struggles as my own. My friends used to joke that I cared too much, and they weren’t entirely wrong.
What’s funny is that I’ve always been really open to things that pull my attention.
When I was introduced to American Sign Language at church, I didn’t think twice about it. I dove in. I volunteered at Deaf camp for six years because something about that community and that work just spoke to me on a deep level. It felt right, and I trusted that feeling.
And yes, I’ll admit it, I’m absolutely obsessed with Starbucks coffee … Let’s try to keep this our little secret, shall we?
Like, genuinely obsessed.
There’s actually a Signing Starbucks right downstairs from my clinic, and I’m basically a permanent fixture there at this point. My team jokes that I’m there more than I’m in the office. But there’s something about that space and the community there that just makes me happy.
Looking back at all of it, I can see how everything connected. The discipline from dance, the genuine care for people, the openness to stepping into new communities and experiences, and apparently, an unhealthy addiction to really good coffee. Those pieces of who I was are still who I am now. They just evolved into the work I do and the life I’m building.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cwcspeech.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cwcspeech/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cwcspeech/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crowned-with-confidence/
- Other: Email: katie@cwcspeech.com – Phone: 202-579-9655
