Hi, welcome to Expression Connection! I’m Maria, and I have been working as a Speech Pathologist in elementary schools since graduating from Texas Christian University in 2001 (GO FROGS!) I have been married to my husband, Roberto, for 21 years. We have two children, which I can hardly believe, are already teenagers.
When I had my children, I recognized that raising them required some things that came naturally to me and other things that were hard. The things that came naturally were the ability to comfort, support, and empathize with them. But, I have always struggled with loosening up, relaxing, and playing around with others. This was a problem because as any elementary school speech student will tell you, a big part of speech therapy is incorporating students’ goals into an atmosphere of fun and play. But, as my children started to walk and talk, their nature brought out the playful side of me that had been hiding. And as my children grew older, their sense of humor (both of my kids are hilarious) opened up the silly, funny side of me. So, in short, along with my education, my children have helped me become a better speech pathologist by helping me FINALLY learn to have fun!
Things I love
Our German Shepard mix, Linda, and our cat Pepper
Cooking
Grilling
Gardening
Fire in a fire pit on a cool night
All kinds of music
Watching birds in my birdbath
A cool breeze on a hot day
The second after I’ve finished a run
The second after I’ve finished cleaning the house
Netflix
Learning new things
Laughing with friends
A good sense of humor
Forgiveness…especially when it’s hard
Truth-telling…especially when it’s hard
What I have
An appreciation for LIFE…of all species great and small
My Hope
I believe that the ability to express ourselves effectively leads to connecting with people, and these human connections are what make life meaningful. I hope that the information I post will help your students and/or children progress on their path to becoming effective communicators.
