Confirmed: The right choice for me

Yesterday at church we had our primary program. Once a year all the children put on a program and talk about the theme of the year and sing primary songs. It's always a really cute program. Several of the kids have parts that they either read or memorize.

As we listened, I noticed how well all of the kids were doing. So many had memorized their parts and the ones who were reading had clearly practiced, as they read with ease.

Toward the end of the program, one boy (probably about 10 years old) got up to read his part. He ended up having a lot of trouble. He stalled on nearly every syllable of every word. Every second he struggled, my heart broke a little. All I could think of is how embarrassed he must be, how much he must wish the experience were over, and how much his peers might tease him for this reading problem. After what seemed like an eternity, a teacher came over to him and whispered (we could hear because of the microphone) "you're doing a really great job, let's keep going". She then whispered a few of his lines to him and he repeated them so we could hear, after a few lines, you could see his confidence come back and the teacher was able to step aside as he finished his part alone.

I was so touched by the way the teacher handled the situation and I felt so much for that little boy that I couldn't stop the tears from falling...and I wasn't alone, several others were wiping tears away too.

This situation just confirmed that my career choice of speech therapy is exactly the right thing for me. While this little boy didn't have a specific speech problem (it was more likely a problem with reading or confidence), I know that children who have speech problems will encounter similar situations and likely have to endure some teasing from their peers. I'm thrilled to know that soon enough, I will be able to help children like this overcome some, if not all of their speech problems.