
A Mother's Story  

Cheryl Martin
c/o Scottish Rite Temple
825 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee  38103-3599	

I am the mother of a very talkative five-year old named Allen Martin. Allen has been attending classes at the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Program for two years. Thanks to the Scottish Rite, he has made a 100% turnaround. Allen has changed from a very withdrawn child to a perky prankster.
	Let me give you some background on Allen. The reason Allen was accepted into the Memphis Scottish Rite Childhood Language Program was because Allen had so many failures at trying to speak that he had almost given up verbal communication. He developed his own sign language. Allen would go for days without making a vocal utterance. When he did speak, it was only in front of immediate family, and we could only understand about half of his words.
	Allen was about 2 1/2 years old when his inability to communicate became readily noticeable to others. Allen already understood at that early age that something was very wrong. He experienced total frustration in almost every aspect of his life. He didn't like playing with other children. He cried through Sunday School and church. When we were shopping, Allen would cling to me like a scared animal. At home, Allen would try talking to his toys but  end up throwing them across the room and beating his head on the floor in frustration.
   Allen wanted so badly to communicate! His mind was full of ideas and requests  he wanted to share, but couldn't. He would shape his mouth and use his tongue to form the words he was searching for, but only groans would come out. As the months went by,  I watched Allen lose his desire to speak until he finally gave up. My efforts to help Allen were useless.
	Then I had an answer to my prayers. I found out about the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Program funded by the Scottish Rite Masons. Allen's hearing and language skills were tested by highly qualified specialists. He was found to have normal hearing but a severe language delay.
	Allen was immediately admitted into the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Program in Memphis, Tennessee, and began therapy on a three-day-a-week basis. With the therapy and patience given to Allen by his speech therapists and the program directors affiliated with Scottish Rite, Allen's frustrations slowly disappeared over the next two years of therapy, treatment we could not have afforded without Scottish Rite assistance. 
	The differences I have witnessed in Allen during the past two years are nothing short of a miracle, a miracle Scottish Rite Masons made happen with their love and support for this program. This has been an emotional time for me to recall for you on paper these early years with Allen. If you had witnessed his crying with frustration and my holding him while he wept, it would have brought tears to your eyes. It was so sad to see a child so young going through such torment. He felt like a total failure.     
	Thanks to the good men of Scottish Rite, there is one less child growing up with sadness in his heart. Now Allen is a very talkative young boy who shows great patience with people during conversations. He doesn't mind repeating himself, and at times he will rephrase what he is trying to say to increase the chance of being understood. Now when people understand him, he beams with justifiable pride!
	With his new-found freedom of communication, Allen's personality is outgoing. He loves playing tricks on people. He laughs easily and finds happiness in most everything in life. It has been so exciting for me to see my little boy experience a rebirth through his new speaking abilities.
	Allen's prekindergarten teacher told me recently that it has been thrilling for her to see the changes in Allen. She remembers a shy little boy who would hide in the corner for hours at a time. Now he is a leader in his class.
	Allen is a sensitive and loving child and seems to be aware of other children's needs around him. In fact, when a new child begins in Allen's class, the teacher pairs them because she knows he will make the new child feel at home.
	I want each of you gentlemen to give yourself a pat on the back right now! Through your support to this outstanding Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Program, you have reshaped a little boy's entire life!     s


