A Speech Therapist's Review of The King's Speech (updated)

My mother told me there was a movie out about a Speech Therapist and a king, and that it could win Academy Awards. So of course I begged her to go with me to The King's Speech.

The acting moved me greatly. I cringed with each "stammer" that Bertie (the future King George VI) endures, in the same way that I hold my breath each time one of my students gets stuck in a stutter. The loved the unconventional and unabashed demeanor of Lionel in his speech therapy sessions, and the persistence of Bertie's wife, Elizabeth.

As a Speech Pathologist who went through years of schooling, thousands of dollars of accreditation, and piles of paperwork, I felt that I should have been outraged at Lionel's lack of credentials and coursework. But I wasn't. I was mainly just relieved that someone else was having success with helping an individual with serious disfluencies. Because heaven knows, that I am having a tough time with it! And it is the 1930's for goodness sake! I've got to give him some credit for lack of speech programs and national accreditation.

It renewed my spirit in my profession and that I do make the difference in the lives of individuals. Even after doing this job for 10 years (exactly!), I still wish I received more thanks for my job. The number of parents I've had actually thank me for helping their child (some of them I worked with daily from Kindergarten to 5th grade!) I could count on one hand. And yet again I felt sorry for myself this holiday season, in which I got no thanks from students or the teachers, whose arses I save every single day. But this movie helped get me out of my glut and made me feel a little bit more important.

updated: Professor X recently sent me a great article written by another Speech Pathologist, who has experienced stuttering.

Revealing a disability

I made a decision this year to really reveal Professor X's physical disability to friends/family near and far. Although we've made reference to his chronic pain on Facebook posts and previous Christmas cards, we've never elaborated. Friends who haven't seen us in years have not yet understood how serious his condition has become.

So this year, I featured Professor X in his wheelchair for our Christmas card picture.


Actually, Professor X pointed out to me that our 2009 Christmas card photo also hinted at his physical condition: if you look carefully you can see his cane hiding behind Marvel Girl's legs.


And although we sent our cards out the weekend after Thanksgiving, we haven't received a single question or comment on Professor X's condition. Even by those who hadn't previously known it's severity. One high-school friend even commented, "I'm glad to hear you are doing so well."

I'm not sure what I expected, really. But at least now the information is out there.

Visual Schedule (Holiday Style)

I have spent a huge portion of my year thus far creating a new system for visual schedules. After beating our heads against the wall for the first month of school, our team decided to try getting our boys onto schedules and using them consistently and throughout the school day. Which is NO easy task.

After trial and error and trial and trial and trial, our system is actually working out really well. And at least 2 of our 4 boys have really taken to the schedule and it is helping them get through the school day with less stress and less explosive behaviors. Hurray!!

Here is a picture of one the boy's Monday schedule. It's been all decked out in order to preserve privacy. :)

The student moves the squares to velcro below (on the lower half of the file folder) as he completes them. There are also several "choice" items he can work for throughout the day in that lower area.

I also had to create an entire "dictionary" of extra pictures for events that happen on other days, other teachers, special events, and extras in case of loss.

So far, so good. Just hope the novelty doesn't wear off and I can continue to use this system for several years to come to make up for the all the time I put into it... One co-worker even said I should patent it and try to make a few bucks off of my work. ;)

Holiday Gifts that "Save the World"

Our family goal at the holidays is to try to give lovingly and intentionally. Give up and above the 10% we give throughout the rest of the year. Give to show that Jesus's birth is a gift to all.

So, we have chosen to give less "stuff" and more "us".

In lieu of a game consul or other common electronics, our family gift is a donation to Advent Conspiracy. Providing water to those around the world and missional opportunities to those locally.




In lieu of a cheesy gifts that no one would probably appreciate, this year we have chosen to give adult relatives gift donations to kiva, so that they can actively participate in making a loan that will change a life (they even get to choose whose life they will change!).



And in lieu of buckets of presents, my daughter will be receive the news that she is going to have a sponsor "friend" in Rwanda through Africa New Life (my son already has one).


With the money that grandparents recently sent us, I was going to put it in the kids' college accounts, but when I realized how after splitting it in two, it would be of very little help in college expenses, I think I'm going to try something new. I'm going to withdraw the amount in cash and put it in an envelope labeled "kids culture experiences". And then next time there is a high school musical, play, or other performance that I would otherwise have needed to pass up because of finances, I can dip into the envelope and give them the gift of experiences.

This is not to say that we will not have gifts this holiday season (we usually open our home gifts on New Years morning). I have been collecting quite a few clearanced items throughout the year and hiding them away to give to the kids. My son will receive a cool costume that I bought 4 days after Halloween at 80% off. My daughter will receive a small toy that I found in the clearance aisle of Target. The kids will get items from grandparents, aunts, and uncles. And Professor X and I? Well, we needed a new mattress. So, that was our early gift to ourselves (and OUCH, I didn't remember how expensive mattresses are!!).

Maybe this list or video will inspire you to do likewise next year? At any rate, please check out the links and pass them along. These are awesome organizations that are truly helping to "save the world".

Center for Effective Parenting

I have used this blog in the past as a way of passing along some cool speech and/or special education materials. It also serves as a great reminder to myself so I can find materials in the future. Because of severe lack of time, I have given up writing "cute" or "personal" posts recently, but would still like to share information that I find to be useful.

So, here's to short, sweet, informative links! (Cheers!)




The Center for Effective Parenting has a variety of useful handout for parents regarding behavior management and ways to help their children. Since I never deal with behavior issues at all (HA!!!!!), I thought I'd pass along the link and hope you find it useful. ;)