Speech… It can raise mountains so high they scrape the heavens. Speech can also tear something down faster than an explosion itself. But, what if you have no speech… no voice… Nothing but mounting frustration? This was my child.
My oldest daughter had a severe speech delay. It was one of those things where, as a parent, you didn’t want to “helicopter” the situation by calling every doctor in town, but you also weren’t sure if it was something that she would grow out of. Doctors acknowledged it but never seemed to want to champion my concerns.
It wasn’t until we were trick-or-treating many years ago and my daughter walked up to a neighbor that it all became excruciatingly apparent. She was dressed as Batgirl. I remember the outfit clearly. It was one of those costumes that she wouldn’t take off. The cape made it all. But figuratively speaking, her cape might as well have been torn off that night.
She wanted to strike up a conversation with the neighbor about their dog. She was so excited about it! She said something along the lines of, “I like your dog. What’s its name?” The neighbor didn’t understand what she said and asked her to repeat it again and then one more time. Finally, the neighbor said, “Okay,” and moved their attention to the next child.
They couldn’t be bothered to figure out what my sweet child had said, and she felt it. All at once I saw her defeat. Her head hung low, and she walked back to me. I held her trick-or-treat bag while she held my hand, and I knew at that moment this Batgirl was shining her Bat Signal into the sky for help.
Fast forward. We got help. After going through three speech pathologists (if you know, you know), we finally found one that worked well with her! Not only that, this speech pathologist LOVED ESA. She wanted each child to get the therapy services they deserved and wanted to do it well.
You will never believe what that little pigtailed Batgirl is up to now! She has a voice and a loud one! She is reading poems at the capitol, speaking to legislators about her story and how ESA helped to find the right SLP for her, AND she has traveled the country to help spread the word about ESAs to anyone who will listen—even at the U.S. Capitol Building in D.C.!
ESA brought her renewed strength and endurance. If your child is struggling and not using an ESA, do not wait another moment. It is time for them to shine! Please reach out so we can help provide you with resources. You are not alone.
Until next time…
—Stacey Brown, Pathfinder Founding Mom
Have questions? Book one-on-one time with Stacey here.
