Lauren Veenstra
SALT
HCPC Registration Number: SL040599
Hello, my name is Lee, and I am an Early Years Speech and Language Therapist.
I studied at the University of Cape Town, qualifying in 2020 with a BSc Honours in Speech – Language Pathology. I am also a qualified lactation consultant and originally started my career in the medical field, working primarily in NICU and acute adult care.
I now work as an education – based SaLT, consulting for Words First within a Local Authority role. I support the borough at a wider level through training, resource creation, document reviewing, and supervision of Early Intervention Workers.
My passion lies in empowering and upskilling parents and early years practitioners as key adults in young children’s lives during the most critical period of development.
The Words First value that resonates most with me is interdisciplinary practice, as it reflects how I work every day. As a borough – wide SaLT specialising in early years, I collaborate closely with a wide range of professionals – Early Intervention Workers, health visitors, occupational therapists, educational psychologists, EYFS leads, and family support services.
I believe children thrive when the adults around them work together, and that speech, language, and communication needs cannot be addressed in isolation. By bringing together different perspectives and expertise, I’m able to support families and settings in a way that’s holistic, practical, and grounded in real life.
Three words I’d use to describe myself are strategic, empowering, and collaborative. I’m always thinking about the bigger picture – how to create long – term change that improves outcomes not just for individual children, but across whole systems. I’m passionate about equipping practitioners and families with the tools and confidence they need to support children’s communication. And I strongly believe in the power of working together – bringing people from different professions and backgrounds around the same table to make support more consistent, joined – up, and effective.
