| In a
small Christian school for students with learning and emotional
disorders, three women are crafting occupational and speech
therapy miracles, one child at a time.
A 10-year-old girl who was
told she would never be able to tie her shoes is lacing them up
for the principal.
A 9-year-old boy with an
explosive temper is asking for a stress ball - and managing his
anger.
An 8-year-old girl who was
noncommunicative and withdrawn is socializing with her peers -
and blossoming as a cheerleader.
At River City Christian
School, progress is sometimes measured by the laces on a shoe,
the squeeze of a ball, the happy screams of a little girl.
Progress also is measured
by joy. All around, perpetual frowns are curling into smiles.
You should see the smiles -
bright and expansive, stretching from one end of the campus to
the other. Behind the pearly whites are three pioneering
therapists whose work has lifted the spirits - and face - of
River City Christian.
In August, Barbara Harr,
Annette Fears and Tami Johnson opened what is believed to be the
first outpatient, occupational and speech therapy clinic in a
local, private school.
Each therapist left a job
that paid between $52,000 and $65,000 a year to work for a
school that can't afford to give them a salary.
Disenchanted with the
quick, assembly-line nature of clinics driven by profit, the
women wanted more time to spend with their patients. "This is
not a 45-to 60-minute insurance treatment," says Fears, 43, an
occupational therapist.
Fears and her colleagues see
25 students twice a week, and sometimes more often than that.
"The therapy program is the key that has unlocked our students'
full potential," says River City Christian Principal Susan
Galindo.
One teacher referred a
student who couldn't spell or write legibly to the therapists.
One week later, the student was writing legibly and scoring a
100 on a spelling test.
An occupational therapist,
Harr started Outreach Therapy Clinic at River City Christian, in
part, so parents wouldn't have to leave work to take their
children to therapy.
"In the public school
system, they offer therapy but not direct one-on-one medical
based therapy," says Harr, 40. "My idea was to take a medical
model and put it in an educational facility. To our knowledge,
it's never been done before."
What Harr has done, some
might say, defies good financial sense. The primary breadwinner
in her family - her husband is retired from the civil service -
Harr left a $65,000-a-year job to start a clinic that survives
on insurance payments. But virtually every dollar she and her
colleagues collect is poured back into the clinic to build
capital.
"We're going to need
assistants," she says, "because the caseload is pretty heavy."
Outside the school, the
therapists make home visits - and a little money - through
independent contracting. "The minimum amount we need to get by,"
Harr says.
But there isn't much time
for work outside the school. At River City Christian, Johnson
has become an assistant track coach. Harr and Fears judge
science fairs. The women - all married with children - have
immersed themselves in the lives of students voluntarily.
"This feels like family,"
says Johnson, 32, a speech and language pathologist.
The family at River City
Christian is a miracle in progress. Not long ago, a special
education teacher visited Galindo, the principal.
Galindo showed her visitor
that from August through December, reading comprehension scores
increased on average by two grade levels. In one case, a score
rose from first- to fifth-grade level. "Impossible," the visitor
said.
Galindo smiled and pointed
to the pin on her shirt: "All things are possible."
Galindo and Harr share a
vision some would say is impossible. They want to start aquatic
therapy - but have no money to repair the school's pool. They
want to start horseback riding therapy - but have no money for
horses.
No money? For eight years
Galindo wanted to start a clinic at the school but had no
finances. Then along came three therapists who haven't cost the
school a dime.
Three women who are making
the impossible possible.
To contact Ken Rodriguez,
call (210) 250-3369 or e-mail krodriguez@express-news.net. His
column appears on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. |
