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Director of Development 1761 East Woodcrest Avenue La Habra, California 90631-3260 Tel . 562-691-4227; Fax 562-691-5327 |
Director of Major Gifts 1733 Sixteenth St., Washington, DC 20009–3103 Tel. 202-232-3579, Ext. 143, Fax 202-387-1843 Or call 800-486-3331, Ext. 143 council@srmason-sj.org |
One Scottish Rite clinic shows what can be accomplished with the support of the Brethren.
Every month we ask you "Where Do You Do Your Shopping?" This month, we will give you a reason to "shop" at our "store of happiness," the Scottish Rite Foundations of the Southern Jurisdiction. Here you can "purchase" a brighter future for America's children by supporting our Childhood Language Disorders Clinics, Centers, and Programs. This month's article gives you an insight into one of our clinics, the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders in St. Louis, Missouri. This facility will be the host of the 2002 Scottish Rite Clinic Conference. We look forward to seeing you and promise a warm welcome. Before visiting, you may like to know a little bit about the St. Louis clinic.
My name is Barbara McQuitty. I have been the Executive Director of the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic for six and a half years. The clinic was begun in 1987 when the Scottish Rite members in the St. Louis Valley determined that area children would benefit from a speech and language clinic. After a fund-raising drive among the Brethren and the St. Louis community at large, the clinic's doors opened in 1988. It is a state-of-the-art speech and language clinic that is housed in the Scottish Rite Cathedral, which is in the Grand Theatre District of St. Louis. The clinic is located in the old Pool Hall of the building, and we still get teased about taking away the members' recreational area.
| Therapist Laura Rose with a client from the St. Louis Scottish Rite Clinic. |
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The Chairman of the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic, Ill. Earl E. Walker, 33°, is a dedicated Brother who has served since the inception of the clinic. He has been a model of what every Board Member should be by talking about the clinic, bringing friends and business associates to the clinic's special events, and soliciting support from near and far for the children.
The Mission of the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic is to provide long-term speech and language therapy to preschool children ages two to six who have communication disorders. The whole focus is to reach these children before they begin school so that they will be able to start their formal education with age-appropriate speech. Being on an even playing field with other youngsters makes an enormous difference in the children's education. When you begin school with a barrier, such as a speech or language disorder, it is very easy to fall behind, and once there, it is twice as hard to catch up with classmates.
When the clinic began, there was only one Speech and Language Therapist treating the children. Soon, however, there was a waiting list of children needing the services provided at the clinic. Such a list has been a constant since that time, with anywhere from 15 to 50 children waiting. The Walker Scottish Rite Clinic now has six full-time Speech and Language Pathologists, and an Audiologist who is on contract for one day a week.
A little-known fact is that one out of every 10 children has a speech or language concern that needs professional attention. Each year, the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders provides service to over 600 children through one of its programs. The services and programs offered by the clinic are: speech and language screenings, evaluations, limited audiological services, individual speech and language therapy, group speech and language therapy, parent education classes, and community referrals. These services are provided at no cost to the family of a child needing help. Scholarship assistance is provided to all children regardless of race, color, or religion. There is a focus on serving children who come from families with minimal or poverty-level incomes. Referrals for the children come from physicians, the Parents as Teachers Organization, clinics, schools, and word of mouth.
The clinic is a 501(c)(3) organization. Funding comes from individual gifts, annual gifts from the Scottish Rite Foundation of Missouri, the Supreme Council, 33°, grants from community foundations and corporations, and third-party reimbursement. The St. Louis clinic also has three major fund-raising events each year. In the spring, there is a theatre production that sells us the opening night, at cost, for use as a fund-raiser. We sell all of the tickets for that night to friends and have a festive reception beforehand. The late summer brings our KIDTALK Golf Tournament. This year's event will be our fourth. It is a sellout event! In the third year, a profit of $80,000 was made, thanks to an excellent Golf Committee. Last, but not least, is the late fall KIDTALK CELEBRATION, a Dinner Dance and Silent Auction.
In 1995, a new program was started that has greatly expanded the St. Louis clinic's reach. Each day of the week since then, two vans are loaded with therapy supplies, tests, and a portable audiometer. A volunteer driver then takes the van and a Speech and Language Pathologist to one of the nine communities located 60 to 90 miles outside of St. Louis. These communities were carefully researched and found to have few or no speech and language therapists or other resources available except for a few in the school system. The mission of the Mobile KIDTALK Program is the same as the St. Louis Clinic in reaching out to preschool children and providing long-term speech and language therapy. Yearround, the mobile units serve each of the nine towns on the same day each week.
A great deal of local public relations was necessary in each of these communities to let the people know about the service. Rounds were made to schools, social service people, local newspapers and radio stations. Each of the six therapists on staff visits one or two cities that they go to each week, with the balance of their time spent on their caseload in the St. Louis Scottish Rite Clinic.
All services provided in St. Louis are also provided in the Mobile KIDTALK Program. In both St. Louis and the cities served by the clinic van, the goal is to never duplicate a service that is available already. The children we serve are those who would otherwise "fall through the cracks" in the system. The schools and other service providers frequently have very specific criteria for treating a youngster with a speech and language disorder. Many children do not fit the exact criteria set forth, and as a result of this, they would not receive much-needed services if it were not for the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic programs.
In the St. Louis clinic, the staff works closely with graduate speech and language programs at St. Louis University and Fontbonne College as well as the Occupational Therapy program at Washington University. We supervise one or two clinical students each semester. This experience keeps the staff current on new ideas and offers them an opportunity to be of service through teaching persons who will soon be entering the field.
Another program offered by the clinic is KIDSCREEN, which utilizes a van once a week to screen children at childcare and preschool facilities. The initial area targeted by this program is the inner city. It has proved very successful in its first year and a quarter. The preschools and daycare facilities are excited about the opportunity to identify children who need help with speech and language development.
Children whose parents both work frequently go undiagnosed due to a parent's work schedule. These parents also do not often see their child interacting with other youngsters. They may not realize that their child's speech development is not at the same level as that of other children the same age. The Speech and Language Pathologist provides ways that the supervisor and staff at the childcare facilities can help speech and language develop through reading and other activities. The clinic speech pathologists also have conferences with the parents of children who are found to have a need for speech and language therapy. Referrals are made to these parents for help, and tips are given on how to assist their child with home activities that will aid development.
It is so meaningful for all of the staff to watch the progress of a child. It starts when they come to the clinic for a screening. They are so shy and frequently unhappy. They are withdrawn because they have been unable to communicate with others around them. Their behavior is marked by silence or by acting out in inappropriate ways. As they come to the clinic over the next months, they begin to smile more and form a close friendship with their therapist.
Gradually, their confidence grows as they are understood when
they speak. Many of them are sad when they graduate because they
realize that they will not be coming to see their friend, the
therapist, again. Parents are so grateful when they hear their
child verbalize for the first time. Often, the first words are,
"I love you!" What a wonderful gift this is, beyond
anything physical, that the clinic can give a child's parents!
These wonderful gifts are only possible due to the generosity
of the Scottish Rite members, the Scottish Rite Foundation, and
the many community resources that see a need and step up to meet
it. Helping our children is truly an investment in the future!
Please
Note: This information is distributed with the understanding that
the authors are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or
other professional service. If legal advice or other expertise
is required, the services of a competent professional should be
sought. From: A Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a
Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers.
To learn
more about the Scottish Rite Pooled Income Fund, click here.
For a chart illustrating Scottish Rite Foundation, S.J., USA,
Charitable Gift Annuity Rates–Single Life, please click here.
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Ill. Thomas M. Boles, 33°, G.C. (left in photo) has worked extensively in fund-raising for children's programs throughout our Fraternity. For more information on planned giving, call Bro. Tom at 562–691–4227 (Fax 562–691–5327) or the Scottish Rite Foundation, Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A., at 202–232–3579, ext. 143. Ill. Earl E. Ihle, Jr., 33°, is our development team's Director of Major Gifts. He has been a member of the Fraternity for 25 years and served in 1978 as Master of Lafayette Lodge, No. 111, Baltimore, Maryland. He is also a member of Boumi Shrine Temple in Baltimore, the York Rite, and a dual member of the Scottish Rite Valleys of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. You can reach Bro. Ihle toll free at 1–800–486–3331, ext. 143. |