FACES OF THE BCIU
BERNICE CRUTCHFIELD - Speech Patholgist, Early Intervention
“I share my students' joy when they achieve little victories in their learning!”
Feeling a little down? A little on the blah side? Need some energy and pep?
Go see Bernice Crutchfield, a speech pathologist for the BCIU’s Early Intervention (EI) program. Happy with her job and with life, Bernice will infect you with positive energy in no time.
“I love, love, love, love my job!” she says.
Bernice has worked with children ages 3-5 in the EI program since 1995. And that was after working several years as a speech therapist for the Appalachia Intermediate Unit in Altoona. She holds a bachelor’s degree in speech therapy from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and is now completing a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in special education at Albright College.
“There’s no typical day for me,” she says. “I’ll work in a classroom at the Ed Centre [the BCIU’s Education Centre] two days a week. At the Early Childhood Center, I have bilingual students in three different groups. I’ll also see some students one-on-one. Some of the students may have autism or developmental delays. Others may have an articulation problem. I also may work with children in the Head Start classroom later in the week.”
Bernice works closely with the students’ Early Intervention teachers as they go through their educational program daily. She uses what she calls “regular” events to help her students with their language and speaking skills.
“With these youngsters, there’s always a teachable moment,” she says. “For example, recently the classroom teacher was introducing a new snack food to the students. So we’re sure to use adjectives to describe the food and ask the children to say them as well: ‘The apple is green. It is crunchy and sweet.’”
Her choice to remain a speech therapist/pathologist for students her entire career says it all – helping youngsters speak and communicate more clearly is a calling for her.
Why children?
“I’ve always loved children,” Bernice says. “Every chance I got I’d try to be with kids. I baby-sat as a teenager. Taught at vacation bible school. Those kinds of things.
“And when I discovered speech therapy and that I could use it to help children, well, there you go!”
Bernice is a huge proponent of all things BCIU. She is vice president of the BCIU Education Association, the union representing the BCIU’s certificated professional staff (such as speech therapists and psychologists). She feels that she works in a very “collaborative environment” and that her colleagues, including occupational and physical therapists, interpreters, and paraprofessionals, are “absolutely dedicated to working with children as they help them become more successful in school.
“The BCIU offers the services of 40 speech therapists to the children of Berks County,” Bernice says. “Early Intervention has 23 classrooms in the county, serving more than 1,800 students. We’re larger than some school districts!”
She’s also impressed with the parents of her students and their commitment to helping their youngsters improve in their language skills.
“Parent involvement is crucial,” Bernice says. “It’s inspiring to see my parents’ commitment to work with their children on speech skills, to correct them as needed, and model good behavior.
“I share my students' joy when they achieve little victories in their learning!”