Speech Patholoqist Katie Peters
Helps Students Defeat- Disabilities
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Bv Kevin Covle
Special Correspondei
Sitting comfortably behind her desk, Katie Peters, I
|speech language pathologist a! PCC, begins speaking
tcandidlv of her work, beliefs and values in life/She
truly is a remarkable woman who is dedicated to
|:fee!ping others. She says that there are two phrases
Iwttich pop up a lot in her life: '"Wouldn't it be fun to..."
pir "WoddnYthis be a neat idea*../" And when M$
| someone responds to her with a i4yes/* then she feels
llhat she has made a commitment _ ^ „
Eighty percent of her time is spent working with
; students who have communication disorders. There are
j many ways, in which-she .tackles •different
communication impairments. She can work with the
students individually, but she is a firm believer in
putting students into small groups so they can give
support to each other and help each other in the
remediating process,
/ Peters added, however, that each disability is
different, :"i don't always know what to do. People are
different, and I deal with each one of them differently/'
Some of Peter's students come from the
CGmtnunteation program: Students taking / .
communication classes/who have .some- kind; of |;/
I "speaking disability are often referred by their instructors
" to Peters.'"Some students'have small- disabilities that
| they need to get rid of for communication purposes/*
- ■' Stuttering is another major, problem many .students -
I complain:lsbont According to PetetsyM^^
in the student's mind, "I teach them to speak with more
iraath/"
"Most of these:students:have.Mhayior pr^ersis,*' ■
Peter said. "They don't know how to deal with different
&huatidiis that .arise in their lives.:"'11tei^iGre/tfeeir
.anxieties come .out-in PP^^f^l^^iSii^^^^^i
students /the sky is the limit They can, readily-control
or get rid of their disabilities if they really put 'their
mind to.il/? ■
Another responsibility Peters has is her .involvement
-.with the Tournament of .Roses and the .Rose -Court -PCC
■was approached by the Tournament of .Roises to-see if /
the college could;-work-out some type of course in,. ■
which the Royal Court could attend and get proper
tripeech training and, in addition* receive class ,<ifidit
The first year Peters coordinated this program, the
court received credit for Communication 20 which is a ■
special projects course.
■ Last year she managed to arrange it so that the court
could receive Speech 1 credit Again, the thrill for
Peters was to watch the girls go from undeveloped
speakers to very formal and relaxed addressers.
Peters is a person who has had the experience of
living in many different places. She was bom in
Ashville, North Carolina and later came to California.
Peters said, "When I came out to California, I sounded
different. Kids laughed at me...maybe that's when I
really got interested in speech.'' Her father was in the
Navy which meant that she was uprooted a lot and was :
always the new kid on the block. She thinks that those /
situations helped her adapt to peoples* personalities mfjj^
different environments much easier. §
"Speech pathology is one of those things where you
have to keep yourself current with what's going on.
Things change," says Peters, %
Peters was aware that PCC did not have a .real
'bonified program for people with communication
disorders. So when the opportunity came through, she
was extremely excited. Dr. Irvin Lewis, a former vice
president of .PCC, really wanted to see a program
started before he retired. As Peters puts it" "If was a
matter of timing, ."1 was at the right place M the right -
time with a bag full of goodies/1
Working with students with communication, disorders
has .proven 'very rewarding .for Peters. "We see these
people as being very -different/'5 she says, "and one of
the great values of being at a community college is that
we are truly being exposed to different people who are
/tn;:;diffefe;nt situations."/
People with disabilities are just like lis except their
means of communication are not Most people only
communicate with people who communicate exactly.;;;'/!
like themselves, and most ..are not immediately .
outgoing, This cannot be said about Katie Peters. Her
;":'dedication-.and professionalism has': feaily^'helped • ,- ■
'..students on -this.campus.
fl find 1 am challenged by -what's'here, by what's
possible, and by how best we can utilize our available
resources to^help students realize'their potentials/"
Peters said, Although Peters is often challenged, she is
.ready tofaee -any-major challenge in her job. -With her
glowing personality, Peters can solve almost anything* .
