International Women's Day

Being in a profession consisting of more women than men, I felt inspired to write a post on International Women’s Day. I don’t know why it is that there are more women than men train for Speech and Language Therapy but it’s definitely a profession with more females! (But I do know some brilliant male SLTs too!)

I work, and have worked with, many inspirational Speech and Language Therapists who are dedicated to making a difference to the lives of the people they work with. Whether it’s helping children to say their first words, use their speech sounds correctly or to make more sense of the world around them… and that’s just the children we’ve seen before lunch!

There are so many women who have inspired me throughout my entire life, before and during my career as a Speech and Language Therapist - and men too but today is International Women’s day so we don’t need to talk about the men today! ;)  

 

I love quotes and I have many favourites. My love of quotes also reminds me how important language is to be able to understand others and express ourselves and to find our place in the world. I feel so privileged to be part of a profession that offers support and intervention to people struggling to develop effective communication skills (or regain these skills if they’ve been lost).

I thought I’d share some of my favourite quotes (so hard to choose only a few!)

-          If you think you are too small to make an impact, try sleeping with a mosquito in the room – Dame Anita Roddick (I love this one and use it whenever I am talking to people about campaigning)

-          The question isn’t who’s going to let me. It’s who’s going to stop me – Ayn Rand

-          No one can make you feel inferior without your consent – Eleanor Roosevelt

-          If you don’t like something change it, if you can’t change it, change your attitude – Maya Angelou

-          Anything is possible if you’ve got enough nerve – J.K.Rowling

Some of the most inspirational women in my life are those the closest to me. My mam, my sister and my grandma have all played a huge role in my life. My grandma always used to say ‘You’ve got to laugh or else you’ll cry’ and this gets me through many situations (sometimes daily!) I know I am a better person because she was in my life. All of my family (and friends) are so supportive of me and everything I do and I feel so blessed each and every day.

My sister Joanne, mam and grandma with a cool little Julie!

 

Thanks for reading. Be proud of who you are <3

Speech and Language Therapy Transforms Lives!

 

Happy Birthday!

We are more than half way through the year! I do not know where the time is going! I am still working hard in Leeds and thoroughly enjoying my job.

A few weeks ago a friend (and fellow Speech and Language Therapist), Charlotte and I went to Holy Trinity Church to celebrate the Giving Voice choir’s 1^st birthday. Giving Voice is an inclusive choir for adults with neurological conditions and their carers. It was launched in June 2014 and was formed by Speech and Language Therapist, Wendy Neill. I really enjoyed their Christmas performance and was looking forward to seeing and hearing them perform again to celebrate their first birthday.

The evening began with an introduction from Wendy Neill and then the choir began with a lovely performance of ‘We like to sing’. Guests were provided with a song book so we could join in with the songs too. It was clear that everyone was enjoying themselves and it was lovely to be there to celebrate their first birthday.

Wendy thanked a number of people at the end of the first half of performances before the interval. Following this Thea Stein, Chief Executive of Leeds Community Healthcare, then thanked Wendy for her hard work and dedication to the choir.

No birthday party is complete without a buffet, drinks and birthday presents. During the break there were refreshments and an opportunity to buy raffle tickets for the chance to win one of the beautifully wrapped birthday gifts.

 

The choir then sang another selection of songs before the raffle was drawn and we all sang happy birthday! Sadly, I didn’t win a birthday present, but I did have a lovely evening listening to the choir sing in the church. We signed the visitors book and had some birthday cake before we left. If you are in Leeds and haven’t seen the Giving Voice choir perform, it’s definitely a nice evening’s entertainment and I will look out for future performances.

Speaking of birthdays it’s 4 years this month since I started this blog and this post is my 100^th post. In July 2011 when I decided to start this blog I didn’t think I would write so much! I am so pleased that people have been interested, and read it and can’t believe it has had over 27,000 page views! Hopefully the second half of the year will bring more opportunities to blog and spread awareness of Speech and Language Therapy!

In other news, I am looking forward to travelling to London on Friday to speak at a webinar at RCSLT headquarters. I’m going to talk about my involvement in engaging MP Ian Lavery. For further information about the event visit RCSLTs website here: Giving Voice – local heroes make national champions: engaging with MPs

I hope it is useful to a lot of RCSLT members and I look forward to updating you after the event!