Finding My Voice
As the year comes to a close, I would like to share a little about how I found my voice this year. I think I am starting to step into my calling.
Last year when I was in school, a motivational speaker came to speak to my class. His challenges were similar to mine. His story inspired me and at that moment, the possibility of me becoming a motivational speaker felt achievable. I believed I was capable but felt my challenges would hold me back.
At this time, I was working with my Speech Therapist and learning all about the Dialogue AAC device. In addition, my teachers and I had been focusing on what I would do next in my life. They knew I was interested in writing poetry and advocacy.
An opportunity to share my story and use my Dialogue AAC device became a reality this past February. I spoke to a graduate class from Kean University who was studying Augmentative/Alternative communication. We all thought it was a good way for me to practice using my device, but it turned out to be much more than that. After my presentation, the students were so engaged that we spent another 30 minutes on Q&A. When all was done, my parents and I looked at each other and said “this was a big deal”. And it was. I was so proud of myself. It also was the beginning of several more speaking opportunities to come my way. I have since spoken to graduate students at Seton Hall University, as well as, other classes from Kean University.
It has become a passion of mine to share my story with students, as well as, administrators in the special education community. The feedback I get is that it is very helpful for them to hear about my experiences and my feedback on how they can work differently with their students. If in sharing my story, I only reach 1 person, I am proud.
The highlight of my year was being asked to host a workshop at the 50th anniversary of ASHA Conference in Atlantic City, NJ. My workshop was called, Finding My Voice. The conference is attended by teachers, parents, therapists, paraprofessionals, principals, and various administrative personnel who work within the private schools that cater to students with special needs. I hope my presentation helped them to help their students find their voice.
To communicate my message, I use my voice and I also use my communication app on my iPad called Dialogue AAC. This app allows me to plug in my presentation and read it aloud for me. With so much to share, it's important for me that my audience understand what I'm saying. If it wasn’t for my AAC device, the audience wouldn’t understand my whole story due to my speech impediment.
I believe that I am called to be a Motivational Speaker. Without my device, it would have been much harder to make my career come true. I can’t wait to see what next year has in store for me.