Online Speech Therapy Co-Founders Recognized at Legislative Assembly

Online Speech Therapy Co-Founders Recognized at Legislative Assembly

…making an extraordinary impact on our province and indeed the entire world. ~Honourable Bill Boyd

Greg and me with Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Dan D’Autremont. We were honored to receive our nomination certificates for Canada’s Manning Innovation Awards.

Think about an adversity you are facing today. Imagine how badly you want to get to the other side of your tremendous challenge. Now, imagine what the best possible outcome would be if you could fast forward to your day of celebration. That celebration day for me happened last week. Let me tell you a quick story about a long journey.

We believe that all children should have equal access to quality speech therapy services, regardless of where they live. So we created TinyEYE, which connects our speech-language pathologists with our students for quality online therapy services. We started this nearly a decade ago before the world knew about YouTube or Facebook. Not everyone was ready for us and we faced tremendous adversity in our early years. As small business owners, my brother Greg and I stretched each penny just to pay our small team. Because telepractice was not outlined in my region’s code of ethics, I repeatedly faced losing my professional licence. Even worse, there were so many communities where children did not wait one year for help, nor two years for help. They waited their childhood for speech therapy services because they did not have accessible support. We reached out to our member of parliament who brought us to the Legislation building where we spoke to ministers about the plight of our region’s children.

I knew it was a changing day and I took a picture on the steps of the building (2008, below).

I imagined a day when we would return to the Legislation building with our students to celebrate the difference we had made in their lives – this would be a dream come true.

A changing day! Above shows me on the steps of the Legislative building. Our first visit was to advocate for children (2008). Our second visit was to celebrate how students have triumphed with support through TinyEYE (2013).

Last week, years later, we were invited back to the legislation building! Since our first visit, we had contributed to the evolution of telepractice guidelines in our profession and we had grown to serve children all over the world. We were introduced to the Legislative Assembly in recognition of our innovation and the impact it has had on our children. Do you want to know what made it a dream come true? Guess who else was introduced during question period. Several students from TinyEYE schools! They had earned a trip to the legislative assembly because of their involvement in a future leaders program. They came from schools where TinyEYE has the privilege of serving. These were the first schools that said yes to TinyEYE. They believed that their children should have equal access to quality therapy services. Every day, we connect with these communities to fulfill our purpose: to grow smiles, mend spirits, and engage children in their lives. Sitting across from these students, who are so engaged in their lives, was my dream come true.

I knew it was a changing day and I took a picture on the steps of the building (2013).

Below, I have shared a video clip of our gracious introduction at the Legislative Assembly. It was such an honor to be there and we appreciate all the effort invested into our visit. Likewise, we extend gratitude to our schools that have partnered with us all of these years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fsOZZmvDOU&feature=youtu.be

Reflection of the day: Adversity is a valuable medium for positive change. Greatness grows from facing adversity. Learn to feel comfortable with discomfort. Learn that hard is easy. Learn that uncertainty and even despair show up before triumph. Learn that fear is simply a human emotion we feel when we are flying higher than we have even been. When your purpose – or your WHY – is bigger than any “why not”, you will be strong enough to champion on through adversity. Imagine your best day ever. Do not decide your story is over. Adversity precedes triumph. Only you can connect the dots.

With gratitude and joy,

Marnee Brick, MSc

Speech-Language Pathologist and Director of Speech Therapy

TinyEYE Therapy Services (Speech Therapy Telepractice)

1-877-846-9393

Growing smiles, mending spirits, engaging children in their lives…

TinyEYE is the world’s preferred online speech therapy service provider for schools, agencies, and individuals who seek exceptional performance, revolutionary solutions, outstanding service, and student success!