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Drennan said,
“TCU provided Thomas a super
foundation
– not just with helping him to talk, but also
with reading, social skills and,
most importantly, a
lasting love of school and learning.”
In the early to mid-
1960s, in a little
yellow
house
on
the campus of Texas
Christian University, a
group of children with
speech and language
disorders
gathered
in a classroom for
speech therapy.
From these small beginnings, the concept has grown into the
thriving Early Childhood Speech and Language Programs Levels I, II
and III now held at the TCU Miller Speech and Hearing Clinic under
the direction of Janet Lanza. Over the years, hundreds of children
have gone through these classrooms and emerged as better
communicators, being ready to start school with a much greater
chance of success.
If you drop by the children’s classroom at the Miller Clinic, you will
find student clinicians and happy, busy children playing, working
and improving the very important skill of communication. There are
classes for children ages 3, 4 and 5.
For a wide variety of reasons, the children in the class have some
type of speech or language disorder that hinders their ability to
effectively communicate with their families. The children receive
both individual and group therapy at one of the only programs
for preschoolers with speech and language disorders in this area
of Texas.
A highlight of all three levels of the program is its emphasis on early
literacy and its use to enhance speech and language training. Part
of the curriculum is based on the Children’s Early Intervention for
Speech-Language-Reading program that was authored by Wilma
Jean Tade, a former director of the program.
Most graduates of the program leave with better communication
skills, and many of them also are reading and enter school ahead of
their peers in some academic skills.
D’Ann Drennan’s son Thomas could not talk at age 2. They enrolled
him in TCU’s program when he was 3. Drennan said, “TCU provided
Thomas a super foundation – not just with helping him to talk, but
also with reading, social skills and, most importantly, a lasting love
of school and learning.” She believes that if a child loves learning, he
can overcome the challenges of a learning disability.
Providing a
strong
foundation for learning
Photos by Glen E. Ellman
FEATURES
The Harris College Magazine
- Summer 2012 ·
11