Stories From the Field Campaign

“Here, I got this for you”, stated three year old Aidan, as he handed me a gift.  With surprise, I looked at his father who stood there beaming with pride. “When did this happen?” I asked.  Aidan did not know that the gift he gave me in those six words was what I would remember or where they would lead me.
             
After teaching Preschool for 15 years I was ready for a change, but what would I do?  As I searched for a new career, my mind kept coming back to Aidan. When he first arrived at the school, his communications skills consisted of pointing and smiling or speaking in short one-syllable phrases.  When not understood, Aidan would give up and withdraw. When Aidan turned two and a half he was assessed by a Speech Pathologist. She told his parents that Aidan’s oral motor muscles were weak and this was the cause of his speech delay.

I will never forget the day he came to school and could say his name for the first time. He was two months away from turning three.  I came in to work and greeted him and his father during breakfast.  “Aidan, tell Gretchen what your name is,” coaxed his dad.   In a soft voice, barley audible, I heard “my name is Aidan.”  With surprise and excitement I cheered wildly for him.  By the end of the day he was telling everyone with pride what his name was, as if it was no big deal.  I watched Aidan became a confident little boy and realized how my dream of helping children could come true. 

Aidan’s gift is the reason I am applying for admittance to the Speech Pathology Graduate Program at California State University Sacramento. If I could be so lucky as to give one child the confidence it takes to speak, my entire schooling and career would be worth more than the riches of the world.

Aidan did not know how his six little words would affect me, but I owe him for showing me what is possible when one person cares enough to give the gift of speech.