Judy D.

ur dear friend and long-time speech-language pathologist, Judy Dittmer, recently retired from Boyer after 25 years of service. We miss her tremendously but are also excited for her to begin her next chapter. Following is a brief update she shared after having a few weeks to reflect after her official retirement.

“I didn’t graduate from Boyer at age 3 when most clients do. I stayed on a little longer. I recently retired from Boyer after working there for 25 years with toddlers and their parents as a Speech-Language Pathologist. Now that I’ve been away from Boyer a few weeks, I am reflecting on what I miss. Above all, it is the warm connection the children, family members, staff members and I had with one another at Boyer. We work as a team in trying to help each child develop to his or her full potential and to help the parents learn to better help their child and to be their child’s best advocate, and I think this is paramount in our minds.

Some moments I remember, miss and am grateful for are:

• Waiting for a little child try to communicate his desire for me to blow bubbles

• Singing and making the motions or signs to the songs (such as “The Wheels on the Bus” or “This is the way we blow our bubbles”) in the classroom during music time

• Hearing a child try to say a new word (maybe the first word)

• Seeing a parent light up when she recognizes her child has tried and succeeded at accomplishing something that seemed so hard

• Trying to figure out what will help a particular child learn to communicate better

• Admiring the loving interaction between parent and child as the parent listens to his child and figures out what his child wants to communicate

• Questioning, seeking and being listened to by a compassionate staff member regarding a problem I may have had in therapy or elsewhere

• Appreciating the children’s and parents’ increase in confidence in their ability, skills and accomplishments

• Sharing with my team members our successes or concerns we had while working or playing with a child in therapy or class

• Being assured that Mike Stewart, our Executive Director, and the Board of Directors work for Boyer’s best interests

• Collaborating and working together towards a higher purpose of serving children and their families

• Shared laughter, smiles and hugs!”

Thank you again, Judy, for your 25 years of service. You will be missed!