This post originally appeared in September 2020. We are reposting it here for those who may be considering speech therapy for their older children. When I pull up to pick up my teen from school, I’m a little shocked by the scene. The vast majority of peers stand solitary, their faces buried in their phones. It’s not just the students either. Recently, at a conference, while waiting for the …
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With Cochlear Implant, Struggling Tot Now Thrives in Kindergarten
The Orange Effect Foundation has funded speech therapy for children who receive cochlear implants. Auditory-based therapy is essential for optimizing a cochlear implant recipient's speech, language, and listening skills. Learn more about cochlear implants and one child's journey from hearing loss to empowered speech and communication skills in this article reposted with permission from the …
Orange Effect Board Member Spotlight: Monica Gordon Pershey, Ed.D., CCC-SLP
Today's spotlight is on Orange Effect Foundation Board Member Monica Gordon Pershey, Ed.D., CCC-SLP. What do you do for your day job? I’m a professor at Cleveland State University in Communication Sciences and Disorders. I teach courses that prepare future speech-language pathologists, and I conduct research and write professional articles and books, mostly about children’s language and …
Dear Parents: Your Child With Autism Is Perfect
This thoughtful and very beautiful letter was written by New York Times journalist Madeleine Ryan. She shines a light on the wonderful responsibility it is to parent a child with autism. Writing that, "those on the spectrum are here to reclaim what it means to be authentic and truthful," Ryan conveys that autism offers so many lessons, including "what it means to be authentic and truthful." You …
Have You Ever Seen A Communication Board?
It’s exciting to see a new innovation that helps someone. Sometimes an invention comes along and I think to myself, “Wow, why didn’t someone think of that sooner?” I remember arriving at our city park one day and seeing a swing for kids in wheelchairs. It was thrilling to see the joy on a child’s face when they got to try it out. I was recently introduced to another one of those …
NASA Sets a Great Example of Accessibility
Yep, you read that headline correctly. You might expect it to say Cleveland Clinic or Autism Speaks. I sure did. Hopefully, by now you've seen the jaw droppingly gorgeous photos of our galaxy taken from the James Webb Space Telescope. They capture portions of our universe in sparkling detail. For example, here is a picture of the Cartwheel Galaxy. NASA, made sure that their photos weren’t …
CWRU Students Run For Autism
Join Us in Cleveland on September 18th! Last year, a student from Case Western Reserve University here in Cleveland reached out to us and asked if the proceeds from a run they were organizing could go to the Orange Effect Foundation. How can you say no to that? Then I looked at the groups that were sponsoring the event. Naturally, the Autism Acceptance group made sense. But Quidditch? …
Orange Effect Board Member Spotlight: Kristin Erbacher
Today’s spotlight is on Orange Effect Foundation Board Chair Kristin Erbacher. What do you do for your day job? I have been lucky to have an amazing career in the Cleveland insurance industry for the past 30 years. I’ve spent the past nine years as a Commercial Property & Casualty Insurance Broker for Aon, a professional services firm providing risk, health, wealth & investment, …
Coming Soon to a Phone Near You
A new wave of accessibility tools Google and Apple have plans to make phones more accessible to people with disabilities. Tools for the vision impaired. Features for those with hearing loss or impairment. Learn more from this article in The Washington Post. …
Boy Overcomes Challenges of Being Diagnosed With Autism During Pandemic
Reposted with permission from the Cleveland Clinic. Smiling from ear to ear, 4-year-old Carter Smith loves making a grand entrance during his three time weekly visits to the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation. He calls caregivers in the facility’s Center for Autism by name and greets them with a hug. “Carter is so entertaining and has such a joyful …
Doing My Best To Make Fifty Fabulous
I remember in my teens and 20’s how OLD I thought 50 was. I mean, ancient! Now, here I am with the number 5 being the first digit of my age! I’m doing okay with 50 though. I have to admit, 45 was the rough one for me. If you notice how most places list age groups, 45-54 is a pretty common one. So having to move to that checkbox at 45 was killer. Maybe 55 will be my next crisis age! As I was …
Why I Golf For Speech Therapy
We are so fortunate to be hosting our SIXTEENTH annual golf outing. Wow. We would have never guessed we would be doing this for so many years. We have so many people to thank, like our ongoing sponsors, but also the many, many participants and volunteers who join us each year to make the day a memorable one. We asked some of them a few questions about why they return to the event each year. Here …
