TEACHER'S CORNER: SPEECH THERAPIST LEARNS TO EXPECT CHANGE

As a speech therapist at Alma Schrader Elementary School, Amy Emmenderfer has learned an important lesson about working with children: expect change.

"You have to be prepared at any minute throughout the day to change your lesson plan and follow the lead of the child you are working with at the time," Emmenderfer said. "This has been a difficult thing for me to learn to deal with, but I have accommodated very well."

Emmenderfer has been teaching three years. Prior to coming to Alma Schrader she worked one year at Naylor RII schools and one year with Easter Seals in Cape Girardeau.

She is a 1995 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with a bachelors degree in communication disorders. She is married to Jason Emmenderfer and enjoys doing crafts in her spare time.

Emmenderfer said she became a teacher because she loves working with children and she also likes having summers off.

As a speech therapist, she sees children on an individual basis or sometimes in groups of two or three, depending on the severity of the child's speech or language deficit.

"I find my job to be gratifying because I feel like I am making a small amount of difference in these kid's life," she said. "Maybe some day they will become productive members of society due to their better communication skills."