Vocational Leadership and Agents of Change Abby Gober

Vocational Calling God’s calling for our lives based on our gifts, passions and interests Stays the same even as our careers change Vocation is not the same as a career “Your vocation in life is where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.” – Fredrick Buechner

Charles Van Riper

Charles Van Riper Born December 1, 1905 in Champion Township, Michigan Began stuttering at two years of age Sever stutter caused problems during his childhood Superstitions about stutterers Attended two institutes for stutterers, but they didn't’t help People hadn’t taken the time to learn about stuttering, so there was no known “cure” Did well academically despite stutter Graduated from the University of Michigan Received doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Iowa Pioneer in department of Speech-Language Pathology

Contributions to Speech Pathology Founded the speech clinic at Western Michigan University, one of the first speech clinics in the nation Developed stuttering modification therapy (a type of stuttering therapy intended to reduce the anxieties of adult stutterers) which is still one of the most commonly used methods of stuttering treatment Wrote the first textbook for the field of Speech Pathology: The Treatment of Stuttering and Speech Correction: Principles and Methods

Charles Van Riper’s Legacy His methods in stuttering therapy are called the “Van Riper Program” His work continues to be referred to and analyzed

Importance of Speech Pathology “Speech-Language Pathologists work to prevent, assess, diagnose and treat speech and language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.” Speech therapy can help individuals struggling with speech and language disorders gain confidence Speech and language problems in children can have negative impacts on social and emotional development, but early intervention and treatment plans can help Therapy methods, such as the ones created by Van Riper, allow individuals with speech disorders to cope with and the impacts of their disorders