Amy Finn

By Aidan Gustafson, Grade 12

I have always been a very outgoing and eager student, but having a stutter has made it exhausting for me to express that side of myself. I came into high school fairly confident that I could make my way through any speech or presentation. Boy, was I wrong. In October of my freshman year at Arrowhead High School, I was asked to read a paragraph in front of the class. I stuttered and stammered through it, and once it was over, I never wanted to come to school again.

Ever since I can remember, I have been seeing different speech therapists to help with my stutter. My mom had a stutter when she was younger, and she passed it down to me. I always felt annoyed having to meet with therapists, because I never really felt like I was making any progress. So, when my parents suggested I meet with one of the school’s speech therapists, I rolled my eyes and fiercely rejected the offer. But, my parents kept pushing me to give it one last shot, so I did. 

For my first meeting with Mrs. Amy Finn, I had prepared myself and tried to remember all of the annoying little tips and tricks to speaking that were given to me by previous speech therapists like “ relax your tongue” or “take your time.” I was pleasantly surprised at the end of my meeting with her when I realized she didn’t mention any of that. Instead, she asked me questions about my life, how school was going, and would occasionally look down and scribble in her notebook. It felt different than the other times I have met with speech therapists. It felt like she was treating me like an adult, and not some little kid. 

I kept meeting with Mrs. Finn, and my sophomore year of high school is when I got my IEP (individualized education program), which allowed me to use alternative ways of presenting speeches or projects. This let me focus on school work and my future, instead of worrying about presenting projects. One specific example is when I had socratic seminars for my American Literature class. At the beginning of the semester, Mrs. Finn helped me not have to do them, but encouraged me to watch other students participate. This helped me gain confidence, and at the end of the semester, I was participating in every socratic seminar that we had.

In the second semester of my senior year of high school, I still meet with Mrs. Finn every other week. She helps me with current problems I have, and has even reached out to the speech department at UW Madison, so I can continue to get the help I need. Mrs. Finn was one of the first teachers to truly have a positive effect on my life, and gave me something that I will hold onto forever. Because of Mrs. Finn, I can show the outgoing and eager student that I always have been.