Over the years, Clara has inspired me by her hard work and determination. As a young girl, her speech was impossible to understand given the extent and nature of her speech difficulties. The sounds that most people can easily produce, took weeks and weeks of practice for Clara. She loved to play, which made our sessions fun. More importantly, she was willing to try despite very slow progress. As her speech developed into sentences, she began to stutter. This type of disability often creates social awkwardness or shyness in young children. Not Clara. She was always full of stories and never backed down from activities that required social contact. Very inspiring!
I remember specifically when she did a speech in front of her class on the Holocaust. I was particularly impressed since this was during a particularly challenging period of stuttering. She was so emotionally connected to her topic that she was determined to present her project despite any speech obstacles that may be in her way. She practiced (a lot!) and successfully presented. If I am not mistaken, she was selected from her class to present the same speech in front of an even larger group. For a stutter, this is like climbing Mount Everest! All of her years of hard work had finally paid off, as she was able to effectively communicate an important message to her peers. I was so proud of her.
If I had to select one word, I would say “determination”. Her sense of determination has propelled her forward in speech and in life. In academics and extra-curricular activities she always puts in 100 percent, and yields the rewards of success. As a Speech-Language Pathologist, I recognize the amount of work that went into Clara developing successful communication. That couldn’t have happened without determination.
Maureen Doyle, M.Sc.,S-LP
Speech-Language Pathologist 1320 Mathers Ave.
Speech-Language Pathologist 1320 Mathers Ave.
489-2537 Winnipeg, MB
doylem@mymts.net R3M 2J8
