Personal Statement \"Daddy\'s Home,\" Says My Nine-Year-Old

Personal Statement

"Daddy's home," says my nine-year-old cousin Justin at the sight of a truck in the driveway.

His father's truck? No. Alas, his father -- my uncle -- passed away more than a year ago.

Death is hard for any child to understand. How does one find the words to explain to an autistic boy that his father is not away on a business trip, but on a voyage from which the man will never return?

Even I had trouble grappling with my uncle's death, and to communicate my grief. I found comfort and solace in at least making the world more comprehensible and less frightening to my cousin Justin through the use of simple communication exercises the child could understand. Despite his autism, Justin, because of an early intervention program with a speech pathologist, has gained a fluency that is gratifying to see -- I may not be able to answer the question of why his father was taken away too soon from this life but I can play at sign language games like 'pat the leg' and 'snap fingers,' games and exercises in language that have given my cousin the ability to communicate at least some of his wants and desires to others. His confidence in himself has flourished as a result of such educational outreaches.

My experiences as a teacher and tutor with Justin confirmed my desire to enter the field of speech pathology as a professional. This summer, I gained further experience in the field as I 'shadowed' a speech pathologist. I gained greater experience and knowledge of other forms of early speech disorders amongst children, such as apraxia, cleft-palate syndrome, stuttering, and a variety of other developmental, psychological and physical difficulties young children can experience that inhibit their ability to acquire language and communicate in a comprehensible fashion with others.

Developmental delays in speech often have a combined physical and cognitive component, and a delicate balance of hands-on therapy and speech adjustment must be struck, on an individual basis with every child, for the therapy to be completely effective. It is this level of individual attention lavished upon every child that attracts me to the field of speech pathology. I hope to eventually deploy a similarly individualized approach in my own practice.

One autistic child who I met at the beginning of the summer could initially communicate only through sign language. She was, as a result of the efforts of this trained professional, and also, I hope, some of my aid as well, able to sing "Old McDonald had a Farm," by the end of the program. I never knew such a simple, silly song could sound so beautiful to my ears.