Arlene Colon

Arlene Colon (http://www.bloomspeechtherapy.com/about.html (Bloom Speech Therapy))

Arlene Colon- "Bloom Speech Therapy believes in integrating family values, environment, personality, lifestyle as well as the child's individual needs to help the child's communication skills bloom. We believe in providing a child-centered, holistic approach to speech and language treatment."

Staying calm while a child is fussy is like staying still in an earthquake, and it is what my mother does every day, with children that are not hers. A hero may seem action-packed and exciting, wearing as flashy outfit and saving the day from chaos, but not all heroes have capes. Some heroes, like my mom, show their qualities while helping children with their speech; a tiring yet rewarding job. I first came across the heroic qualities of my mother, Arlene Colon, as a child. My older brother had speech problems, and instead of letting other people help him, she went back to school and got certified so that she could help him, and other kids, herself. She is a hero to me because she helps people- all of her clients' parents are always grateful to find such a great Speech and Language Pathologist. As her daughter, Annika Colon, a high school student, I aspire to be as helpful and heroic as my mother.

As the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association states, speech pathologists "work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults." To be able to practice speech and language pathology, you must have your Master's degree in Speech pathology. It is not required, but many SLPs also get their certification, and most states require licensing as well. A few other careers in the field are Speech Pathology Assistants and Audiologists. Signs of a language disorder include the following: not smiling or interacting with others, not babbling, making few sounds, not using gestures, not understanding what others say, saying only a few words, putting only a few words together to make sentences, saying fewer than 50 words, and many more.

Arlene Colon was a rather independent child, taking control of anything from group projects to cleaning and redecorating the whole house. Although these talents seemed troublesome at some times, they helped her later in life. When she first went to college, she was a business major, and stayed that way for a while. However, when her son was diagnosed with apraxia, she decided to go back to school and train to become a speech and language pathologist. She got a job as an SLP at a local preschool, but soon found she hated it. She stayed unhappily at that job for a while until she finally broke off, starting her own business, Bloom Speech Therapy.

Being an SLP, Arlene helps children overcome their language disorders on a day-to-day basis. She has made parents and their children alike happy and comfortable speaking. "Although my Daughter is shy at times, she warmed up to Arlene immediately. She is always prepared with fun activities that help her remain focused. She is able to balance firmness with kindness, and I have no doubt that her clients will know that she cares deeply for them and their progress. " says R.J., San Juan Capistrano. In order to be an amazing person like my mother, I will work hard to improve my community. My mother helps children with their speech, and I can learn how to do this from her. I can babysit and take care of my cousins.