In this week’s Board Member Spotlight we learn a little about Melissa Meehan, a passionate board member of the Orange Effect Foundation, as she shares her passion for summertime and live music. I love Cleveland in the Summer! The Cleveland Metroparks hosts Thursday night Summer Concerts all over town. I attended the concert at one of my favorite spots in Cleveland, the historic U.S. Coast …
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Six Fun Summer Speech Therapy Activities to Boost Language Skills at Home
We’ve written about ChatGPT twice before on this blog so I decided to give it a try, and wasn’t sure what to expect. Would ChatGPT spout out a bunch of facts regarding the activities I suggested? Would it put together a simple paragraph with the information I provided? To find out, I told ChatGPT that I wanted to write a blog post about summer speech therapy activities to do at home. I gave …
People with Autism Finding a Lifeline with ChatGPT
Have you heard all the rage? ChatGPT is making headlines across a huge array of topics. From kids using it to complete homework assignments to folks worried about losing their job because of it. ChatGPT is a force that is not likely to slow down anytime soon. I previously wrote about ChatGPT when sharing the struggles I often find when working to come up with content for this blog, or other …
Board Member Spotlight: Kristin Erbacher
Welcome to our Board Member Spotlight, featuring Kristin Erbacher, the Board Chair of the Orange Effect Foundation. Kristin is a driving force behind the Orange Effect Foundation's impactful work. Today, we take a break from our usual topics as Kristin shares her insights about the local dining scene in and around Cleveland. From cozy neighborhood bistros to trendy fusion eateries, Cleveland has …
The Orange Effect Foundation Announces Second Quarter Grants for 2023.
The Orange Effect Foundation is proud to announce it's Second Quarter Grants for 2023. With a commitment to empowering children and young adults with speech disorders, the foundation has awarded a total of $43,254 to 21 individuals across the United States. These grants have been selected through a rigorous review process led by the dedicated members of the Orange Effect Board of Directors. …
Honoring Dads this Father’s Day
Happy Fathers Day to anyone out there who has been a role model in a child's life. Remember you are a crucial part of that child's upbringing. And to those of us who have lost a parent, I know these holidays can be difficult, but let’s remember how important our parents were in our upbringing and do our best to carry that tradition on to younger generations. Many of those present …
Board Member Spotlight: Pam Pulizzi
Have You Ever Been To Pickwick and Frolic? Cleveland has an eclectic and all inclusive food and entertainment scene. To be honest we have come such a long way just in the last 10 years. So much so that it is often hard to decide where to entertain friends and family when they come to town. One of my favorites though, is Pickwick and Frolic, located on E. 4th Street and also home to …
A Speech Therapy Success Story
Adam* was six when he first walked into my speech therapy office. He had bright, curious eyes and the energy of eight children at their first sleepover. He wanted to touch every toy in the room — and he definitely wanted to talk! When he tried to speak, however, the words rumbled around his mouth like a toddler holding an open lemonade — his words were ice, unable to decide whether to stay …
Speech-Language Concerns? Don’t Wait – Evaluate!
“They’re still young - let’s just wait and see.” Coming from a pediatrician, this phrase holds a lot of power over parents worried about their child’s speech and language skills. The parents may have expressed a concern that their two-year-old hasn't started talking yet, is only saying a few words, or is very hard to understand. When the pediatrician brushes it off as not a big deal, the natural …
National Speech Language Pathologist Day
The month of May brings so many things – signs of summer, graduations, weddings, and so much more. May is also Better Hearing and Speech Month. Part of that is National Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) Appreciation Day on May 18. SLPs are VERY important to us here at the Orange Effect Foundation. One example of this is that every application is required to involve a speech-language pathologist …
Board Member Spotlight: Joe Pulizzi
One of my passions is golf. Ever since I got to the age where I couldn’t hit a fastball, golf became my sport of choice. Golf was the game where I spent two hours with my dad on a Saturday morning or four hours on a Sunday with my friends. Or a random nine holes somewhere on a discounted Wednesday afternoon. For the past 20 years I’ve been in a golf league (St. Bridget’s) where I had the …
Honoring Mothers
I’ve had a lot of people in my life who have been a role model to me. I am thankful to every one of them. However, especially now as a mom, I find Mothers Day to be extra special. It’s fun to look back and reminisce about the things our parents did for us. Most of us don’t recognize the sacrifice parents make until we are adults ourselves. Here are some thoughts from our board members about their …
