Special Education

When I think of a success story, one student that stands out is a little guy in Year Two. When he first began school, he was very difficult to understand which resulted in communication breakdowns and feelings of frustration. Since receiving speech therapy, his speech skills have improved tremendously. He now helps interpret for other students who have significant speech production challenges and were in the exact same boat that he was in a year ago. So, he helps prevent and alleviate their frustration. I am so proud to see that not only does he have the tools to speak for himself now, but he also uses his voice and newfound skills to advocate for, and empower, others.

I will never forget meeting this student for the very first time. He looked up with these huge earnest eyes and excitedly told me all about, well, I have no idea, as I couldn’t understand one single word. And even worse he knew it. Trying to show me didn’t work. His shoulders slumped, and he gave up. Although he was in Year One, with many students ahead of him on the wait list, we all advocated to get him speech. Unfortunately, getting back consent forms was an added hurdle. Luckily, our school family support worker went to the home and after gently explaining how speech could help their child to communicate, consent was given. Our school team celebrated the day he was lucky enough to get a block of speech instruction. Our student gained confidence and each time he had a speech lesson, he’d run back into the classroom to show us how he could produce his target letter sounds. He is now able to connect with his friends, family, and teachers and is one of our top academic students. He advocates for his non-verbal and difficult-to-understand friends. It has been a lesson for us all in understanding the power of communication.

I believe building relationships are key, whether it be with my SLP, the school team and without a doubt this beautiful boy I met last spring. I base our sessions around his individual interests and needs. I try to create a safe and supportive environment that allows for risk-taking and confidence building. Sessions are often filled with frustration and struggles. We face them together. Ultimately, my goal is to have my student leave his sessions feeling confident, proud of his effort, and last but not least, loved and respected. His success story is really also mine, as every time I enter my Kindy friends class, I am met with smiles from a boy who is eager to join me and face his challenges head on and succeed.