The typical activities of a Scottish Rite clinic represent the many services provided by our RiteCare Childhood Language Program.

Every month we ask you "Where Do You Do Your Shopping?" This month, we will give you a reason to "shop" at our "stores of happiness," the Scottish Rite Foundations of the Southern Jurisdiction. Here you can "purchase" a brighter future for America's children by supporting our RiteCare Childhood Language Program across the Southern Jurisdiction. This month's article gives you an insight into one of our clinics, the Hilgenberg Childhood Speech and Language Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

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My name is Jennifer Beard. I am the Director of the Hilgenberg Childhood Speech and Language Center. The Center was begun in 1985, when the Scottish Rite members in the greater Baltimore district determined that area children would benefit from a speech and language clinic. After developing a relationship with the Hearing and Speech Agency to provide the clinic with licensed certified speech-language pathologists, the clinic's doors opened. It is a state-of-the-art speech and language clinic that is located in the Scottish Rite Temple.

The Deputy of the Scottish Rite Masons of Maryland is Ill. Dr. Hans R. Wilhelmsen, 33°. This dedicated Brother is a model Scottish Rite Mason and Board Member. He is always talking about the clinic, bringing friends and business associates to the clinic's special events, and soliciting support for the clinic's children from near and far. Deputy Wilhelmsen was also instrumental in getting our clinic a beautiful new awning to dress up our outside appearance. It bears the RiteCare logo and has resulted in more community attention to the clinic. (See below.)

The mission of the Hilgenberg Childhood Speech and Language Center is to provide long-term speech and language therapy to children ages 18 months through 18 years who have developmental delays, chromosomal disorders, autism, articulation difficulties, phonological awareness disabilities, and receptive and expressive language disorders. The whole focus is to provide these children with the skills needed to be successful in any educational and social environment.

We feel it is extremely important to be in constant collaboration with our children's parents/guardians, teachers, and other professionals involved within their lives. This allows us as speech-language pathologists thoroughly to comprehend and address the specific needs of our children.

Ill. Hans R. Wilhelmsen, 33°, Deputy in Maryland (left), and Ill. Earl E. Ihle, Jr., 33°, Director of Development, stand in front of the new entrance canopy of the Hilgenberg Childhood Speech and Language Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The RiteCare logo on clinic signage, as above, increases jurisdiction-wide public awareness of our flagship philanthropy. Photo: Bro. Dean R. Alban, 32°, K.C.C.H.

When the clinic began, there were only two part-time speech-language pathologists treating the children. At that time, the clinic was only open for three half days per week. However, within a few years, there was a waiting list of children needing the services provided at the clinic. Since there was such a community-based demand for services, the clinic was expanded from two therapy rooms to six. The Hilgenberg Childhood Speech and Language Center now has three full-time and one part-time speech-language pathologists, and we are open every day and some evenings!

Each year, the Center provides service to over approximately 200 children through one of its programs. The services and programs offered by the clinic are: speech and language screenings, evaluations, individual speech and language therapy, group speech therapy, parent education classes, and community referrals. These services are provided through several different financial options, such as private insurance, state or government programs (i.e. Medical Assistance), and reduced fees. These types of assistance programs are provided to all qualified 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, psychologists, the Baltimore Infants and Toddlers Program in Baltimore City, 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 Baltimore, the Supreme Council, 33°, contractual agreements with local public and private schools, and third-party reimbursement (i.e. Medical Assistance). The Scottish Rite Women's Club also has major fund-raising events each year. This fall, there was a dinner party and dance on an old-fashioned steamboat located in Havre de Grace, Maryland. All of the money raised from selling tickets to this fun-filled evening was generously donated to our clinic.

In 2000, the Hilgenberg Center began providing speech and language services at a local parochial school two days a week. Since then, we have reached out to several other private schools in the neighborhood to provide speech and language screenings free of charge. Through this service, we have currently screened more than 120 students. These screenings have assisted in identifying students that may need speech and language therapy, but who would not have necessarily qualified for services due to public school regulations. As well, the children we serve are those who cannot readily receive therapy at their school because it is a private and/or parochial institution. These students would not receive much needed services if it were not for the Hilgenberg Center.

In the Baltimore clinic, the staff works closely with local graduate speech and language programs at Towson University, University of Maryland, and Loyola College. Every year the Brockman Scholarship is awarded to two graduate students who attend one of these local universities or the college. A requirement of the graduate students accepting this scholarship is to complete a one-semester externship at the Baltimore clinic during their second year of graduate school. Therefore, we supervise at least one clinical graduate student each semester. This experience keeps the staff current on new ideas and offers them an opportunity to be of service through teaching others who will soon be entering the field.

The clinic speech-language pathologists also have conferences with the parents/ guardians of children who are identified as having a need for speech and language therapy. These conferences allow for therapists to explain specific therapeutic techniques and how they can be carried over into the home. Since our clinic has one-way mirrored observation rooms, the parents/guardians are able to ask educated and informed questions regarding their child's therapy. These observation rooms are key to assisting our parents/guardians to become involved with their child's therapy without being in the actual room, which at times can be a distraction for the children.

It is so wonderful to be a team member associated with the sole purpose of creating better lives for our children. In doing so, we touch the lives of not only the children receiving therapy, but also their entire families. Often, it begins with the first hesitant visit to the clinic for an evaluation. The parents are filled with concerns and questions, while the child is often scared, frustrated, and confused. The child and the parents'/guardians' interactions with society have often been strained and difficult due to the child's difficulty in communicating with others around them. Their behavior is characterized by either being withdrawn or acting out in inappropriate ways. But as they continue to receive consistent therapeutic services at the clinic, most of the behaviors first noticed dissipate, while the parents'/guardians' fears and anxieties begin to calm. A close relationship between the therapist, parents/ guardians, and child always develops. Through this bond, and the successes achieved in therapy are shared by all.

A newfound confidence often develops within each child. One child may finally be understood when speaking, one may be able to read a passage aloud without hesitation for the first time, one is finally getting passing grades on his or her spelling tests and/or is able to answer questions aloud pertaining to a particular story read in class. These are all skills developed by students attending the Baltimore clinic. It is both a pleasure and a heartbreak to us when we are finally able to have students accomplish all of their goals. We are elated to see them grow and become successful in areas that at one time were of great frustration. Although we are sad to see them go, we know it is time for them to spread their wings and fly away.

Jennifer Beard earned her Bachelors of Science in 1994 and Master Degree in 1997 from Loyola College, Baltimore. She currently works at the Hilgenberg Childhood Speech and Language Center and Loyola College in the Speech-Language Graduate Department supervising graduate students. Prior to these positions, she worked for the Hearing and Speech Agency within the Gateway School in Baltimore. Originally from Sea Cliff, New York, Jennifer has lived in Baltimore City for the past five years and was recently married. She enjoys running and training for marathons, most recently participating with her sister in the New York City Marathon in November 2002.

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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Barbara Golden is the Director of Planned Giving for the Development Office of the Supreme Council. Barbara is an attorney with experience in tax, corporate, and commercial real estate law. She managed a non-profit legal services organization for several years and has extensive experience in fundraising, grant writing, and program operations.

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.