Episode 7: Connecting Voices: Marcus Mueller and the Masonic Clinic Mission

In this episode of 'Hear Me Out,' hosts Niki Lampi and Tamara Pogin from the Masonic Children's Clinic for Communication Disorders discuss the clinic's mission and efforts to support children with communication disorders. They interview Markus Mueller, the Regional Director of Northern Minnesota for Masonic Charities, who shares his experiences and insights on fundraising and community support for the clinic. Markus highlights the importance of raising awareness and securing donations, both big and small, to keep the clinic's services free for families. The episode also touches on various programs like the sensory room, audiology services, and autism assessment initiatives. The segment concludes with practical tips from Tamara on how parents can encourage communication in their children by slowing down and respecting all forms of their child's communication.

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to Hear Me Out, the official podcast of the Masonic Children's Clinic for Communication Disorders. This is the place where we dive into all things related to communication disorders and how we can best support the kids and families affected by them. We will be talking with speech language pathologists, clinic staff, families and donors to share stories, insights, and the impact of providing free speech, language and hearing services to children across our community. I'm Niki Lampi speech language pathologist and director of the clinic, And I'm Tamara Pogin, also a speech language pathologist with a focus on working with autistic children and their families. And we are your hosts. We're so glad you're here. Hello and welcome. Markus Mueller is the donor and membership director of Northern Minnesota for Masonic Charities. He has helped introduce many new people to the clinic, getting our story out there for other families and possible donors. Hello, Markus. Hi. Hello Markus. Welcome. Thank you. No, can you thank you for having me. Thank you for being here with us. Um, tell us a little bit more about your role. 'cause I know it's changed recently. So you are now the regional director of Northern Minnesota for Masonic Charities. That's correct, yes. Yeah, I caught it right. Masonic Charities introduced new roles about October of last year, We are three regional directors. For the South, there's a gentleman, his name is Ethan Seaberg in the central region of Minnesota. His name is Reed Endersbe, and here in the northern part of the state it's me, regional director for Minnesota Masonic Charities. Sounds important, doesn't it? It does sound very, very sophisticated. It sounds even cooler in the German accent. Oh, thank you know, I think anything would sound better. Thank you. so when you started, you started about, was it three years ago? A little bit more than three years ago? Yeah, in January of 2022. Okay. And you started just with the clinic, we've really grown since that time and you've done such a great job just getting other people to know about our clinic and to know the mission and become involved, and so thank you for that. Thank you. And I hope that we have done some, some good work. I mean, we do what we can to continue to support the clinic. My intro to the clinic, obviously was via Freemasonry. I am a Freemason as well, and the clinic was known before it became the Masonic Children's Clinic for Communication Disorders. As the Scottish Rite Language Clinic, the Scottish Rite being one of the Masonic bodies that is, still in existence here in Duluth. And yes, I was in, for the first two, two and a half years, I was mostly only in quotation marks responsible for fundraising, for the children's clinic. And um, I don't know if it was intended as that from the beginning, I guess when I was hired. It was fundraising for MMC, for Minnesota Masonic Charities, which sounds more like a statewide job. It became apparent very quickly that it would be a job that was mostly focused in, in Duluth. I love Duluth. It's my, my home of choice, so to speak. But it was good for the clinic. It was good for me to actually not have such a. Big portfolio to narrow what I'm doing down to the clinic itself because the clinic had support from Freemasonry over the past 30 years. But the Masonic fraternity has so many other organizations is is shrinking. So we needed to change. The support basis of the clinic. And yeah, if you, as the director of the clinic tell me that we have been at least partially successful. I'm glad. Mm-hmm. Because that's what we have intended to do over the past couple years. Yes. I think it's been going great. We've had new referrals, we've had new people asking about how they can help support the clinic, and just continue to grow, which is our goal here, just to reach as many families as we can to give them that support. They need for their children with communication disorders. And I'm glad that you started out only with the clinic, selfishly. I'm very glad that, that we got just you for a couple years. I think it gave you time to really learn about the clinic and what we do because your background is very different than what we do here at the clinic. Oh yeah. Yeah. I am. I'm not a doctor or a nurse or had ever in my life had anything to do with patients, let alone. Small patients like our patients here at the clinic. So yeah, it was a very different world to be exposed to. So tell us a little bit about your past and what you did before, because I know you've had, a lot of work as a photographer and have photographed at the Oscars and some Hollywood events and owned your own business. So tell us a little bit about that side of Markus, that, that seems like a long time ago. Um. But it is a long time ago. I haven't done photography in quite some time. I think the last red carpet event was, it's more than 10 years ago. Must be 12, 13 years ago already. Yeah. I worked in photojournalism for many years. Information technology, it, and photojournalism, either one of the two or the two combined. Modern photojournalism is a lot of. It that is involved. Speed is important in photojournalism, so it plays a role in sending photos to people who would like to publish them. I have always worked in editorial photography, which is coverage of live events, news events, but within, uh, photojournalism it was mostly no always, um, entertainment. And over the last decade or so, since 20 15, 16, mostly fashion. So my wife and I, she's a duluthian. We moved to Duluth in about 2010. That was shortly after we had, started a company in New York. We lived in New York City at the time, company was called Runway Manhattan. And we, Served the photo journalistic needs of fashion magazines in the US, but mostly outside of the US and we traveled quite a bit. Yes. So you can say the world was a little bit different for us from what we're doing here. Right. The only thing that you could say is similar, I don't even wanna say similar, but there is one factor that is the same as a startup, and we were a growing company. We raised funds from investors. So, so that part was similar. So you've had that background. Yeah. Asking for money. I have had no problems with that to ask for money for the company we were building, and that's what we are doing here as well. You know, I'm asking for three gifts, one of them being the investment of, the people that we might be able to give us. The other two gifts as well, the gift of their interest. Or the gift of their influence. I think that's such a key point to who we are as an organization too. And even Masonic Charities as an organization. It's not just, oh, can we have your financial support? It's, you know, give us your, your time. help us spread the word and the message and let more families know about what we can provide them. yeah, it's really great, Markus, that as you. You came into this position and you took the time, the interest to find out about our clinic, but then you became such a great ambassador and I really see you as recruiting other ambassadors. There's other people who might be only ambassadors in, they've had experience and they wanna share that. And then they recruit people who become ambassadors with their finances. And it's all about how people are joining together. And that's kinda, I see you as. Putting the puzzle pieces together about connecting people who have money and influence to the people who have the stories. Um, interesting. Yeah. And, talk about how people are finding you now in that they have a legacy, they want to impart or they have, um, some finances that they wanna support a good cause, your feelers are out for them. How does that work? How do you find them? It's interesting. There is actually, um, it's, it's a little bit upside down, uh, compared to what, what you mentioned, uh, right now. And the, the two elements that you're mentioning are absolutely important. So we find. We as Masonic Charities in general and as the Children's Clinic for Communication Disorders in particular, we find people who have an interest in being charitable and an interest In Giving. Not even gonna say Giving back, but giving. And the most important thing in finding those that are interested in supporting the clinic is to, to just. Let them know about the clinic we have unfortunately, and that's maybe good because we are only starting out now in introducing the larger community in Duluth to the clinic. we have been world famous among Masons in Duluth, but many people in Duluth who actually have the need for the clinic themselves with their children or their grandchildren. Or could support the clinic with their financial abilities that didn't know about the clinic. So the most important thing is actually to build an awareness where we have created events that we have grown over the past few years. I mean, our clinic dinner, the annual clinic dinner here has a plaque, August 21st. If you are available, come to the Grayland Ballroom in Duluth. For a special event where we will be about 220, 230 people and it is our annual fundraiser for the clinic. And it's gonna, it's, it's a fun event to be part of something like that. And a lot of great stories will be shared. Exactly. And learn a lot. And the stories that you just mentioned are the key to introduce others to the clinic and then comes the, well, that is a fantastic story. Right. How can I help? Mm-hmm. And some may be able to help by also spreading the story, as you mentioned it, become ambassadors for the clinic and others might say, I actually have financial means that allow me to make contributions to the clinic, make donations, support the clinic in, not just as an influencer or an ambassador, but with, uh, with funding. And that is a sometimes a slow process. But it is a very rewarding process, not only for us to see that others support us, but it's also rewarding for them to see what we are able to achieve with the funds that they provide. Right, right, right. And I have two thoughts along that line. So one, when I first started here, the idea of asking for money to do my job was very uncomfortable. Honestly, that is not something that I was used to. I was used to seeing the kids, you know, working with families. That was my service. That's what I, that was my heart. That's what I gave. And then coming here, it was really weird to ask people, you know, like, do, do you wanna support this? This is my passion, but is it your passion? I don't know. And. one of the donors told me once they said, no, we're so happy for this opportunity to give to these kids and families. And that made it click for me. and the other part that really surprised me when I started was just seeing how many people in our community support this, you know? And being surprised that like, like I said, I know that this is my heart and my passion, but to know that there's people out there who meet these kids and these families and believe in that as well, and say, I wanna do what I can to help. It's amazing. We live in such a great place. Mm-hmm. We do. We live in a sweet spot in the United States. We do. And in a sweet spot in Minnesota. Yes. Even though it's cold at two seasons in Minnesota. I just said that to a few people I met over the weekend. We have a white winter and we have a green winter. That's true. And the seasons are phenomenal, both of them. Right. It, it's, it could be a little bit warmer. I agree. Markus, what's something that surprised you in learning about in getting to know the families at the clinic? The first thing that jumps to my mind, but it's difficult for me to put into words, I believe, is to see parents and I have only seen one in 10, maybe only one in 100 that have come here. Right. How they carry the challenges that they are facing. Mm-hmm. Um, we are providing. Part of a solution, but the solution is, is much more than what we can provide. I mean, we, we can point into a certain direction and please excuse me if I'm speaking as a lay person. Mm-hmm. I do not know how to treat communication disorders, but I can see the, the relief. That I sometimes see when parents walk in here and they bring their children, the smiles on the faces of the kids when they see you, the therapists, their friends. Mm-hmm. The first couple graduations that I was witnessing. I saw relief. I saw celebration, I saw pride and parents who are. So excited to see that their children are able to realize just a little bit of the potential that they know they have. Right. And which is held back by not being able to communicate properly, whatever the communication disorder or impairment might be. But then thinking back from that when they first come here, you know, some of them have been through a two year journey with us. Mm-hmm. And we have helped them. Once a week, maybe twice a week, but they have 24 hours every day. Right. So we are giving them tools that can help them solve their problems and that help them face the challenges that they have in their daily lives. And the way I have gotten to to know the clinic is. It is not just a place where you go and you have an hour once or twice a week with a therapist that helps you, but that we are providing tools that are life changing. Right? You have the parent support groups. I didn't know that they existed. Right? You have. Support groups for those that are on the waiting list. I had no idea that there was a waiting list. That the need for what we provide here at the clinic is so great in our local community. Right. So it becomes a much, much bigger picture. And that's what I think is the, it's not overwhelming. It is just really, it's gratifying to see it and to be able to be. Pushing on one side of the cart and helping it to move forward. Right? Yeah, I love that. so for those of you that don't know, the Masonic Children's Clinic offers two years at no cost to parent service. So after two years, we have a celebration called a graduation, and the clients that have finished that come and we have it at the Scottish Right Temple in a very. The fancy auditorium. We let the children wear, caps and gowns. We make it a celebration, but Nikki always makes sure that she thinks not only the donors, not only the therapists, but the parents. Exactly. Because exactly what Markus said is that we are providing tools. We are opening doors, but it's the parents that bring those kids across the finish line. Exactly, It's such a commitment for these parents when they come on board. It's not just. Bringing 'em to an appointment, dropping 'em off and coming back. They're there with us. kids have their parents as their primary teacher, like you said, Markus. They're with them all week, where we only get to see them a couple times a week. So our time is important. For, teaching the child, but beyond that, it's teaching the parents what are some things you can do at home and at school and in the car and during dinner time that you can help your child really communicate when they need it outside of here. And they're, the parents are just wonderful. Mm. Yep. it truly becomes a partnership with, um, the parents and caregivers that come. we are just so privileged here to have some people, some dads bring them, some nannies, bring them some, aunties, grandparents, in addition to parents, all kinds of caregivers bring them and then we can have the opportunity to work with. Every adult that brings their child in. And that becomes one more piece of the treatment. Not just, helping Johnny say, say words, but then also explaining to those caregivers, the treatment strategy, things to practice at home, literacy things, ways to connect, language to on the playground or at school. And, it's much appreciated because we're trying to think of the. The whole child and not just the 45 minutes that we have them. Right. Which is why our outreach weeks I think are so important too. And for those that don't know our outreach weeks, instead of seeing the children here in the clinic, we see them at home or at school or at daycare again, because it's important to share that information with everyone who's involved in the child's life, not just while they're here. So, Markus, the last time that you came to a staff meeting you talked about, Like the average, there is no average gift giver. But you talked about, the different kinds of connections that you are getting either through our website, through donations. Can you speak a little bit of that? 'cause that was really interesting to, to us as a staff about how we are being funded and from the, 'cause sometimes we think of only the really big gifts but then how that all trickles down and how it all makes a difference. And the importance of every gift. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, it was really cool to hear that. It's an interesting analysis to do at times. Uh, of course we have data that we those that have donated to the clinic over the past decades, and some of them have been major donors. We talk about hundreds of thousands of dollars that have made possible what, what we are doing today. The clinic is 35 years old, founded in 1990. So of course it has taken a lot of. Money to have the clinic run for 35 years and to save the clinic through COVID, for example. Mm-hmm. That was huge. that was huge. And, what it has been interesting to see in, in the evolution of the support for the clinic is that over the past few years, we have been able to grow the amount of givers to the clinic, the individual gifts. We have more individual gifts today than we had three, four years ago. That's one important metric to measure if we want to talk about success. But we also, can see that we have been able to consistently keep the level of giving. So we did not just add 50 or a hundred or 200 new donors, but they give at a level that is meaningful compared to the needs of the clinic. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But there is a meaningful. Means two things to me. It meaningful means that there is an amount of money that can go towards the services that the clinic provides. Meaningful is also important for me as a donor or for you as a donor. Meaningful means there that you are providing support that can give you the great feeling that comes from supporting something that is. True charity. Mm-hmm. We have in within Minnesota Masonic charity, several causes that we support, and I always call the clinic the Pearl that we have here in the north because the clinic is charity in its truest sense because it provides services without any money involved on the giving side. So anybody who is treated. And at the clinic, there's never money between the patients and the clinic or the parents of the patients and the clinic. Right. It makes it just so easy. It makes it very easy for those that receive. Mm-hmm. The help and the treatment and it makes it so rewarding for those that are able to and willing to support at whichever level they do. There are some that support the clinic with small amounts every month. Mm-hmm. And it is important to acknowledge those. As much as the person that says, I am at a time in my life where I have more funds available than I need for myself, and I would like to write a check to the clinic for a certain project. For something that can be realized or needs to be done to have a more holistic approach to what we're doing. Whether it's the sensory room that we just, uh, inaugurated, right, right. Or it is the audiology that we need. Um mm-hmm. Autism Spectrum disorder. the assessment program possibilities. The assessment program for that. so that was a long answer to the question that you asked. It's a good, it's a good answer too of my question. How, how does that work with the, with the donors? The gift level is obviously important at some point because we have a budget of about a million dollars a year for the clinic that needs to come from somewhere. But to get started as a donor. come and see the clinic and give, if you want to, and if you can give, give, what you are able to, because that is the reward process starts right there. the level of giving is not as important as the fact that you appreciate what the clinic is doing and supported by being interested in it, by influencing others to know about it, and maybe by investing your own funding. And I wanna add too, if anyone would like to visit the clinic, you can just give us a call. We're happy to give tours, we're happy to answer questions about what we do here. Yep. Our door's always open. And also if you're interested in any of the specific, programs that Markus or we have mentioned, like the parent groups or autism assessment program, or we have, an a a C outreach, some different things that we're gonna be talking about over the course of our podcasts. some people really have a connection to one of those topics and want to specify, but then also just know that. Every dollar will is going towards the kids. It's going towards the, connection that we're making for communication. Exactly. And our budget is very lean. I'm kind of obsessed with the budget because I know that everything we spend our money on is gifts from others, and I wanna be very, very mindful of how we do that. so really our only expenses are staff and then programming and things for the kids. So when you're giving to the clinic that money is directly. Affecting the children that we see. And like Tamara said, for some of our projects that we're working on right now, one, we need more audiology services. There's a shortage of audiology in our area. So we have, audiologists that are helping us out, but we would love to add more hours to that. right now, if a child has a. A question of a hearing loss, it might take six months for them to be seen. Well, in that time, six months, that's a long time for a child. They're missing out on a lot of development if they can't hear for that six months. So supporting the audiology program is very important. And then the autism assessment. Almost anyone you talk to will be, will know someone who is affected by autism spectrum disorder. And the waiting lists for assessments for that is also very lengthy. It can be up to two years even across the whole state of Minnesota. Yes. Not in this region specifically, but also. Further a field in Minnesota. Mm-hmm. And really across the country. Mm-hmm. It's just really hard to find someone who can provide the diagnosis and you can still get treatment here without a diagnosis. We treat, the child where they're at, but for a lot of these families, they need that diagnosis to receive additional funding and for additional services. And so that's where they get hung up. So with this assessment clinic that we're hoping to start, we would have providers throughout our area come in and, and our goal is to have about four weeks throughout the year just to assessment so that these kids who are waiting can get that diagnosis and start their journey a little sooner. So if those are anything that you're interested in supporting or helping with or finding out about any other programs we have, please give us a call. Yeah. And I like what you said too about, audiology and development because even though, we as speech pathologists are treating a child, if they have a hearing loss, it's like treating someone with a hand tied behind our back. Mm-hmm. That's a good, because we need to have, we need to know what, we need to know what they're hearing so that we can make accommodations for it. Otherwise, it's a shot in the dark. Mm-hmm. It's part of the holistic approach that we have, and that is something that I had to learn. I wasn't aware of it, but it's uh, it's beautiful. The audiology to me personally, and correct me if I'm wrong, in a way, has the same meaning or the same cornerstone character as the sensory right room. Mm-hmm. There is an assessment that can happen where. Out of the small patients that we are taking care of and where can we accommodate them and what is their actual situation. we find out about that and I only learned that recently. It sounds smart right now that I'm, I'm able to say that, but I only learned that at our open house a couple weeks ago. Beautiful. That, uh, the sensory room is, the starting point for everything that we're doing. If you want to communicate and there is no communication. Mm-hmm. And then of course, hearing problems can cause a lot of communication disorders and problems and manifest themselves in different ways. We need to know. Right. And I love how our audiologists have talked about people think even a mild loss might just be a mild hearing loss, but a mild loss. Is still very significant to the child. If you think about learning language from that early age, if they can't hear those quiet sounds like the K-T-S-F-S-H sounds, if they're missing those, It can change the meaning of a word. Um, it can change how you use the words. So it really has a great impact for building that foundation of sound awareness, which then leads into reading and. Future academics. So it's all, it's all tied together. It's helping build that strong foundation. And Markus, you have an interesting background in linguistics too. You have a lot of good stories about language that sounds so fancy, but I have a background in linguistics. I love languages. Yes, I have always, loved languages. I grew up well being in Germany. Being a, being a European, we learn foreign languages in school, no excuses. You'll learn at least two, um, two in addition to your two in addition to your, to your mother tongue. Okay? Right. So I, I started with English in fifth grade, and then we added other languages over the course of the next years Latin, French, Russian. I chose a few of them, Hebrew, Greek. Then moving to other countries, you need to learn the mother tongue of these other peoples that you would like to communicate with, right? Danish or Swedish or whatever it might be. So if that's what you call linguistics, then okay, I will accept that. No, that languages are a passion of mine. I love language so closely connected to a lot of our abilities to understand others, obviously for obvious reasons, but also. The history of language, how languages have evolved and how they have determined what has happened in in world history. Mm-hmm. Yeah. That really ties in the importance of words and language and communication, and how it lasts over time. And how we're teaching these kids early, early on, and what we're teaching 'em now is going to have effects throughout their lifetime and their children's lifetimes. And their children's children's lifetimes, and it's really a lasting impact that I think we often lose sight of in the moment. Mm-hmm. Um, Markus, are there any other, upcoming initiatives that you would like to talk about, as things are moving and changing in the Masonic world? Well, in the Masonic world there's a lot of movement, but let's just limit it to the stuff that has anything to do with the clinic. I'd like to put a plug in one more time for the Please do. Uh, for the clinic dinner, we will be at the Grayland Ballroom on August 21st. We will expand the event a little bit This year there will be a social hour that is, uh, kind of entertaining 'cause we'll have a programming that is in the Morris Room, in the two hours before the actual event. I do believe that we start around 5:00 PM in downtown Duluth, and the event itself has grown from about 120 guests in the, over the past decade to around 220, 230 guests that, we have had last year at the, at the event. So that's an important one for us. But, if we talk about events that are not necessarily clinic events. There are organizations in town that have embraced our mission and that have embraced what we do and they would like to support us. So ask organizations that have events if they might be supporting charitable courses, and you might be surprised to find out that there are quite a few organizations that do support the clinic with the funds that are raised. In, in Duluth, we had the Duluth, uh, Scottish Heritage Association that have supported the clinic over the past three years with a Scottish scramble, a golf tournament. Came kind of out of nowhere, a wonderful gift that the people that are involved in Scottish Heritage in Duluth, are giving to, to the children's clinic. We have an organization in town that is, gathering guests from near and far, at a Star Wars convention, and they have been very generous to the clinic as well. They have held some of their events at the Shrine Temple at the, or Shrine that is, on Highway 53, and they have moved some of their events to the deck because there are just so many people that would like to, experience their, conventions. And I believe that they have an event a couple days before our, or a few days before our dinner on August 21. That must be the weekend of, August 16 and 17. Yes. That they're going to have what is called the Excalibur Con in, at the deck. Mm-hmm. And, beautiful that we have local organizations that are putting charity on the agenda and helping the clinic raise funds via things that the local community, cherishes. Mm-hmm. That's great. Yeah. They've been so fun and so helpful. so check that out in August. Check that out. Yes, at Excalibur Con at the DECC. And we've also had such strong support from our local foundations, the Ordean Foundation, the Miller Dwan Foundation, the Lloyd Kay Johnson Foundation. the Widy Mitchell Foundation, what was a Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, which is now Boreal Waters, has been very helpful. the Northland Foundation we've worked with in the past, so just everyone that we've connected with has been just so incredibly kind and helpful. And it's important. It's, it says it takes a village. Mm-hmm. And, uh, everybody, you just mentioned, the foundations and also the individual donors. We are all part of this village and we know why we do this and the purpose that we do it for. It's beautiful to see it come together. Mm-hmm. Okay. It's time to put him on the spot. Yes, Markus. We like to wrap up with something kind of fun. Oh, okay. So well fun for us. It might not be fun for you because we're putting you on the hot speed Okay. Trivia time. Hmm. You know, languages, but do you know anatomy? It's not actually that hard. Um, so here's your question. So to say a phrase approximately how many muscles must be in use. 25, 50 or 100. Oh, to say a phrase. To say a phrase, how many muscles am I moving right now while I'm speaking? I think it's a trick question. It must be many muscles. I would say 50 or a hundred. Just because, what is it? It's lips and jaws and throat and diaphragm. Whatever we move when we. Need to express ourselves. Exactly. I I'm guessing 50. Oh, okay. You're wrong. Okay. You were close. So it's a hundred. Okay. It is a hundred. It is a hundred. Yep. He talked himself out of it, but you're right, it's all the facial muscles, it's jaw, lips, tongue, um, throat, chest. everything is working together to. Get our language and get our speech out there. It's, very complex system. So now you know. Wow. Now I know. Thank you for sharing that. All right, so that wraps up this episode of Hear Me Out Big thank you to Markus Mueller. Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure and it's a pleasure to work with all of you for the benefit of the Children's Clinic. Thank you. Thanks for all you do. Thank you. Okay. And now we are going to have another wonderful tips from Tamara. Hello and welcome to Tips from Tamara. I'm excited to use this platform as an opportunity to share my experience from over 20 years as a speech language pathologist to focus on one concept, a resource at a time, now let's hear some tips from Tamara. Today we're talking about slowing down to leave room for the magic. When your child isn't talking verbally and you would really like them to, the pressure you put on yourself and your child during your interactions can be enormous. This may lead to an increase in questions. What's this? What color is this? Or an increase in your pace of talking to fill in the quiet. Or introducing your ideas in play because you're not sure what they want. This is natural and everyone, including myself, has been there when they have a strong desire to connect and communicate with a child. But there is another way. And it starts with slowing down. Watch and observe your child. Accept all forms of communication such as gestures, playful look, a pat on your knee. and build on these moments to grow back and forth exchanges. Then remove the pressure on yourself and your child. Enjoy sharing space with them. Do something you know they like, then pause. How do they respond? You can take a smile, a gesture, a vocalization, sign language, a picture. You can model the word, but you don't have to be so quick to jump in and fill in the spaces. You can honor what kind of communication they are giving you. And leave room for the magic. that wraps up this episode of Hear Me Out. Thanks so much for listening. Be sure to subscribe, share the podcast with others, and join us next time as we continue learning from the professionals, parents and donors who make this work possible and celebrate the amazing kids we serve. To learn more about the Masonic Children's Clinic or to support our mission of providing free speech, language and hearing services, visit our website and consider making a donation. Every gift helps us give children the voice they deserve. Visit us at masonic children's clinic.org.