Graduate / Speech therapist's dedication, intelligence & hard work; graduate school in speech therapy [8]

Darien looked up at me, smiled and hugged me so tightly in the afterglow of a successful speech therapy session; it was then that I recognized the impact that speech therapy had on my life. From my earliest memories as a child playing with Darien, to my fourth year at Stern College, my love and passion for speech language pathology began when I was Seventeen years old observing my neighbors son, Darien, receiving multiple speech and physical therapy sessions. When Darien was born he was instantly a popular little guy, friends and family poured in from all over the neighborhood to see the new arrival. Darien's first year went by so quickly, full of laughter, loving, and learning. Each day Darien grew and developed as any other child did, hitting each milestone on time or early. However, shortly after his second birthday, things began to change. I started to notice that he was losing the ability to understand language spoken to him. His happy temperament disappeared and he began screaming often and loudly. There was the obvious delay in social development and difficulty in establishing normal interactions. After all the meetings, all the tests, and all the questions, Darien's parents informed me that he had been diagnosed with autism. My heart began to pound, I didn't know exactly what the word meant, but I knew it was serious. Up to that point, autism had just been a word in a dictionary but now it had become personal.

I was starting to believe that this child that once enjoyed life is now going to be locked up in his own world forever. In an effort to improve all aspects of communication, Darien's speech therapist implemented different treatment programs that didn't prove to be very useful. With no significant signs of improvement, the severity of Darien's autism became very clear to me, and a growing sense of urgency developed. Although, I wasn't licensed to treat Darien, I wanted to be a part of his future success. I started to learn as much as I could about autism, and felt a growing need to commit my time to helping him. On the weekends, Darien and I enjoyed listening to music and coloring. To try to bring Darien to speak, I verbalized everything. I talked to him in every part of his house. He didn't appear to be hearing me, but I knew he was. On occasion I would make a ridiculous remark such as, 'Look at that dog climb the tree' to which he would respond with a small, amused look at me from the corner of his eyes. It was a very gratifying experience to know that Darien appreciates my efforts in helping him build his communication skills. Building this special relationship with Darien gave me the ability to love and be loved, and allowed me to open up more.

With Darien's speech therapist's dedication, intelligence, and hard work to attain greater happiness and reach his full potential, Darien began imitating actions and sounds, responding to simple commands, and playing with blocks and cars. It was truly remarkable to see Darien go from being completely nonverbal to using hand gestures, body language, and facial expressions to communicate. To say the change was amazing would be an understatement. Witnessing

Darien's transformation from being completely withdrawn to now having the communication skills to interact with others has truly made a difference in my life. It was over that time that I developed a true appreciation for the work of a speech therapist, for without those important advances Darien wouldn't have achieved all the things people said were impossible. There are still many difficulties that I see Darien cope with every day, however, with his willingness to overcome his disability, everyday is an improvement. I began focusing on how many things Darien has been able to accomplish, not on the things with which he will always struggle. This was just the beginning of setting Darien free from the confines of autism.

During my senior year of college, I took an introductory elective course entitled "Survey of Communication Disorders." I spent much of my senior year shadowing my speech professor, Mrs. Goldman, at a school nearby. I volunteered my time observing her to test my own passion and drive for this field. To my surprise, upon simply looking at the children that she was working with, it didn't seem that they had been suffering academically. I was granted access to their reports and read of each child's behavioral issues stemming from family issues, which was now impeding on their academic success. With this mild to moderate diagnosed group of children, it was difficult to visually see them struggle with their academic skills. Watching my teacher relate and connect with them on a social and emotional level, which many people are unable to do, was truly amazing. Their interaction with her was so positive that they would start crying when they were sent back to their classrooms. She improved their communication skills by helping them deal with the emotional issues that were causing their bad behavior. Through this experience, my love and passion for this field was confirmed, because I too have the ability to communicate with others on an emotional level.

Throughout my undergraduate degree, I was under a great deal of stress coping with my family issues. In my sophomore year of college, my father was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes to start with and shortly after underwent a bypass heart surgery that he never fully recovered from. He was constantly in and out of hospitals, and the news just got worst and worst. This was an extremely tough time for me and I myself became withdrawn from society. To see someone you love go through so much suffering was very heartbreaking. Since then, my father is been doing better, which now allows me to focus on my studies, and perform to the best of my abilities. Although my undergraduate GPA doesn't reflect on my true abilities and competencies, I am confident enough that my speech classes do. They are a true reflection of my improvement, performance, and dedication to do well. I have excelled in all my speech classes, and my ability to do well should not be reflected on the classes that I didn't do well in but the classes that I did. I am committed and passionate about speech therapy, and I want this opportunity to further pursue my education.