NIU graduate shares her GiGi’s experience

After graduating from Northern Illinois University with a degree in Communicative Disorders, the chair of the department informed me of an opportunity for an internship in Rockford. The internship seemed like a good opportunity for advancement with children, but I was skeptical of accepting the position. The distance was troubling and my car wasn’t in the best of shape. I was informed  the little boy that I would be working with was named PJ. Some of the tutors were nervous about working with PJ because he was nonverbal, and he was dual diagnosis, meaning he had Autism and Down syndrome. Despite the situation, I decided to take the internship. The drive and passion I have for helping others continues to increase, and this is what made me want to volunteer my time. After hearing about his story I knew I was up for the challenge because I knew I could make a difference.

When I first met PJ, he was very social and sweet. Throughout the tutoring sessions, some of the techniques that I was taught during training weren’t working on him. I had to come up with my own techniques that would probably be more successful. Even though I knew some sign language, I had to take time to learn a little more sign language to teach him the numbers. During therapy sessions, there were good days and others were challenging. I can honestly say that throughout my time working with PJ, there was never a day where I felt like given up on him. He always came to tutoring with a smile on his face, and he was never in an unhappy mood. The biggest accomplishment was when PJ started speaking the numbers in which I was teaching him. PJ is nonverbal and his mother never thought he would be able to speak. The fact that he was able to tell me what I was teaching him was extraordinary.

There have been many experiences in my life that continue to make me into a stronger individual. This experience has altered my prospective as well give me knowledge of how to handle situations in the future. I think PJ has opened my eyes to new challenges that I was skeptical about, but I never thought about giving up. Driving two hours every Wednesday to come tutor was always difficult, but I think I really believed that I could help him out. In my future of becoming a Speech Language Pathologist, I want to continue to face challenges and make a great impact on someone’s life by giving them a voice. I am blessed that this opportunity became available to me because I believe that I helped someone in a positive light.

Ashley Pearson