Stillwater speech pathologist receives annual Mya's Promise grant

Dec. 6—Mya's Promise, a local nonprofit which serves young children living with special needs and their families, recently awarded the Ed Long Grant to Skyline Elementary School Speech Pathologist Emily Theilen.

Theilen, who graduated with a Communications Sciences and Disorders degree and Master's degree from Oklahoma State University in 2019 and 2021, respectively, said she was very excited and a little shocked. Sending in her application was a last-minute plan.

"I'm still fairly new to the district and new to this field," Theilen said. "I wasn't expecting to (receive the grant). I was surprised to be able to get some things early on in my career."

The grant monies Theilen received will be used to purchase further training via an online course on Natural Language Acquisition and Gestalt Language Processing. When she has completed her course, Theilen will be able to join a national registry of NLA clinicians.

The rest of the monies will purchase toys and activities that develop language production during child-led therapy sessions with her students.

"We are so excited to support yet another educator and therapist working in early special education at the public school level," says Dr. Malinda Webb, the organization's Treasurer, in a press release. "This $500 grant will help Theilen complete training in helping children with autism acquire language in new ways."

Although Theilen is originally from Enid, she's in her second year of teaching at Skyline and works with children from pre-K through fifth grade. Most of her students have speech and language disorders, but she sees many students with autism or other learning disabilities.

The online course she's studying, called Meaningful Speech, has an emphasis on the way children develop natural language acquisition. Theilen's focus is on how autistic children develop their language skills.

"That's what I'm very passionate about," Theilen said. "In middle school and high school my mom and I were volunteers at a respite program for kids with special needs, and that was where it started."

She says children with autism will process language in a slower pattern than typically developing children. Although they reach the same endpoint, they process language through scripts with something called "delayed echolalias," or delayed words.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, speech pathologists must obtain a Master's degree, be certified by the state and complete a supervised clinical practicum experience of 400 clock hours. In addition, they must complete a supervised nine-month clinical fellowship and pass examinations.

Stillwater Public Schools Director of Special Services Melisa Kifer said this is the second year that Stillwater has received the grant.

"Mya's Promise presented us with the opportunity a few years ago," Kifer said. "My speech pathologists are the ones who jump on the chance to apply for that. We serve so many children from the age of three before they hit school age. It gives them an opportunity to ask for some things that we typically aren't able to provide."

Kifer said the district receives federal money that helps maintain special education services, but it's only 25 percent of what is needed. The general fund for the district has to shoulder the responsibility for paying in excess of $6,000,000 per year. Any amount they receive to buy instructional supplies or help pay for teachers to go to professional development or trainings is helpful.

Kifer has been impressed with Theilen's work.

"She's eager and has wonderful ideas," Kifer said. "We are excited to have her as part of our team."

The Ed Long Grant was created in 2017 in memory of the late State Senator, OSU Regent and original Mya's Promise Board Member Ed Long, according to a press release. Long was an early childhood education advocate who recognized that early intervention could provide crucial help to children with special needs. Previous grant recipients include educators at Stillwater, Glencoe and Yale Public Schools.

"Early intervention is key to what we do," Kifer said.

She said the district has a physical therapist, speech pathologist and paraprofessionals who maintain the program. Because the district is large enough, they have a program for children who are three years old and exhibit significant disabilities. They reach 30 three-year old children through the program.

If parents believe they have a child with a disability, they can reach out to school personnel or her office to start the evaluation process.

"A lot of times the school staff are the ones who pick up on the possibility (of a child with disabilities)," Kifer said. "There are laws that govern what we do, and part of that is called Project Child Find (a service to assist families of children with special needs). The school district is legally responsible to seek out children with disabilities. It's always a good idea to remind patrons of the district who have children (with disabilities) to reach out to my office."

Kifer receives a lot of calls from parents, and had just received one that morning from a parent concerned about her son.

"A huge thank you to Mya's Promise," Kifer said. "Emily is such a deserving recipient. We appreciate the opportunity for our therapists to apply for the grant. It's wonderful to have such support from our community."

More information about Mya's Promise can be found at www.myaspromise.org, while details about SPS Special Services is available at www.stillwaterschools.com.