I thought this might me a good time to talk about how I got to be here, blogging on issues, events, voting,  etc.  I graduated from college as a Speech Pathologist in 1973.  I began to look for jobs.  That summer, there was an ad in the paper for a volunteer to work with children on their speech supporting the speech therapy lessons they were receiving.  I thought, wow, who better than me?  I worked with Tim and Susie that summer, helping them practice what they learned from their speech pathologist.  They lived at the Willmar State Hospital for a couple of weeks to get their speech services.  What a display of dedication from their parents to let their children come to Willmar to receive speech therapy!

Later that summer, the Willmar State Hospital posted a job description looking for a speech therapist to work for a new program called the Glacial Ridge Training Center.  I went in for an interview and got the job.  My only experience was working with children with Down Syndrome – namely Tim and Susie.  I had no idea what I was signing up for.

When I first started, it was like they didn’t know just what to do with me.  At that time, there were allegations that some of the state hospitals were ont caring well for those with disabilities.  Each state hospital in the system had a specialty – Willmar’s was alcholism.  The State of MN decided that they would ‘regionalize’ the state hospitals, moving residents closer to home, near their families.  Therefore Willmar would open up a new program for the developmentally delayed.  And I was their speech pathologist.

So I read records and tried to figure out just what my role was.  They didn’t even mention this kind of assignment in college!!  The new program was progressive in how they treated their clients.  No more restraints, talking down to them, treating them as if they were children.  We were to respect them, talk to them as we would talk to others.  Take the time to see the humanity in them.  Materials we used were to be age-appropriate.  No baby toys for an adult to work with.  Find something that would be age appropriate and yet teach the same concept.  For example, don’t sort blocks but sort silverware.

I worked there for 17 months.  I started a program to evaluate all of the residents on my caseload, created evening activities for the staff, helped Willmar Schools start a program for school age children.  I learned something every day I worked there.  I treated everyone with respect and worked hard to make their lives the best they could be, considering the circumstances.

I still see some of those ‘residents’ (as we were told to call them) at our events for Arc.  They are now living outside of the state hospital and seem to be very happy and healthy.  What a change since 1973!!

My husband and I moved to the cities.  He started his first teaching job and I looked for work as a speech pathologist, but couldn’t find any.  My husband was laid off from Minneapolis Public Schools (they were laying off 50-100 people every summer, so we looked elsewhere.  We got a phone call from Willmar asking my husband if he would be interested in a job and they also had a speech pathologist opening.  We moved back to Willmar to our new jobs.

To Be Continued Next Week!

I began working for Willmar Public Schools in 1975.  As a speech pathologist, I was assigned to Adams School which was located near where Perkins is today in Willmar.  I also worked part time in the schools with students with speech impairments.  Adams School had four classrooms of school age children who lived at the Glacial Ridge Training Center.  There were four teachers, many paraprofessionals, a physical therapist and me.  It was not an ordinary school.  Many people were in the same boat as I had been before.  Never worked with people with disabilities, never had even seen children like we were teaching.  They had all been living in institutions away from the public eye.  I was definitely the most seasoned employee (17 months of experience).  We became a very tight knit group realizing that no-one could ever understand our jobs.  We worked with students to improve their communication skills, their understanding and their behavior.  It was fun, exciting, challenging, draining and worthwhile.  We had very little staff change.

We also had very few visitors.  That is, until the building was condemned.  Then principals, administrators and others were touring our school wondering where would these students go to school?  We ended up in various school buildings across the city.  Some schools, teachers and staff welcomed us.  Some couldn’t figure out why we were in their school buildings.  Everyone learned from it.  Some never recovered from it  Thinking back, I am appalled that so many people didn’t feel that these children did not deserve and education.  Not in their schools anyway.We also had very few visitors.  That is, until the building was condemned.  Then principals, administrators and others were touring our school wondering where would these students go to school?  We ended up in various school buildings across the city.  Some schools, teachers and staff welcomed us.  Some couldn’t figure out why we were in their school buildings.  Everyone learned from it.  Some never recovered from it  Thinking back, I am appalled that so many people didn’t feel that these children did not deserve an education.  Not in their schools anyway.

The next stop for these students was the Central Office Building.  This building housed the administrators and staff who ran the school district.  This was a good move for the students.  The administrators became aware of the challenge of these students, sometimes with a very negative picture.  They experienced some of the challenges of the students in the hallway, such as disrobing, screaming and eating inedible objects.  They also got to know some of the students, even those who occasionally visited their offices.  This inclusion of students into the schools system was instrumental in changing the lives of these students.  The challenging behaviors were partially a result of their institutional lives.  The times were changing.  Thanks to the school district, teachers, paraprofessionals, psychologist, therapists (speech, occupational and physical) and administration, these students were living better lives.

Next week:  entering the classroom