At age 3 ½ Eric struggled to speak one word. Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, doctors told Eric’s mom, Sabeni, that her son’s language skills and vocabulary would remain at a below average level and that he would most likely not be able to function in a classroom setting. Now at age 6, Sabeni says there are hardly any silent moments in their home due to Eric’s achievements in language acquisition. Eric is known to even lead his kindergarten class in activities. Sabeni attributes most of this success to Eric’s ongoing speech-language therapy at New Orleans Speech and Hearing Center and his work with NOSHC’s speech-language pathology assistant, Callie Fitzgerald.

                                                                                                    "Switching on their listening ears"   

Callie and Eric began working together almost 3 years ago. While Eric initially was hesitant to the relationship, Callie's patience and effort with Eric has not only facilitated his speech achievements, it has also led to a special friendship. Sabeni said her son looks forward each week to his session with Ms. Callie. Callie has over 4 years of experience in the field of speech-language pathology and has knowledge in applied behavior analysis. Callie’s love for language and desire to work with children makes working as a speech-language pathology assistant a perfect fit for her. She has been working at NOSHC since 2008. Currently, Callie and Eric are working on following directions, vocabulary (identifying and labeling), answering ‘wh’ questions appropriately, and increasing spontaneous speech.

“Eric went from pointing to asking questions in full sentences. I was amazed. He is extremely vocal now,” said Sabeni. With his gained language skills, Eric’s personality and social relationships also began to change. Eric is now considered a “jokester,” constantly making Callie and his mother laugh. “It has been a complete turn around. He used to be so quiet,” said Sabeni. She also said Eric has established great relationships with other children in his class.

Both Callie and Sabeni are excited for Eric’s continued improvement and look forward to Eric’s future successes. Sabeni's support and Callie's skill and patience in Eric's life has had a big impact on Eric's ability to become the funny, outgoing boy he is today.

If you think your child may benefit from speech-language therapy, call NOSHC today to schedule a speech-language evaluation at 504-897-2606.