By Amanda Mlekush
When App State student Zoë Pawelczak heard disability advocate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist speak to her Speech Language Pathology class today at Levine Hall, she had no idea how much she and the former NBA player would have in common.
Kidd-Gilchrist was visiting the High Country representing his nonprofit organization, Change & Impact – Voices for Stuttering, which aims to improve access to healthcare and expand services and resources for those who stutter. He was meeting with college students studying to become speech language pathologists, local speech therapists and students in the local school system who stutter. Pawelczak is in her final semester of graduate studies to become a Speech Language Pathologist.
(Caption: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (right) talks with Speech Language Pathology student Zoë Pawelczak after meeting her during his presentation earlier that day).
Both Pawelczak and Kidd-Gilchrist were raised by single parents, and grew up with language fluency disorders and did not have access to therapy or resources to help with their speech until they went to college.
“Hearing Michael’s story and how he is working to change laws and advocate for people with speech and language issues was so inspiring,” said Pawelczak. “I have a palatal tremor and when it begins, my jaw will start clicking and it becomes hard to swallow and even harder to speak.”
Kidd-Gilchrist’s foundation has outlined three key goals to help those who stutter or have fluency issues, including: passing a healthcare bill that supports stuttering intervention research and improves speech therapy insurance coverage, exploring research funding to expand outcomes data on the efficacy of speech therapy and empower families on how to navigate the healthcare system for speech therapy.
After earning her undergraduate degree in creative writing from the University of Illinois at Champaign, Pawelczak said she became inspired to work with others who have fluency issues.
“During his talk, Michael said, ‘it helps you to help others,’” she said. “I think that giving back helps keep me sane.”
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with a group of App State students and faculty
Tall Black man smiles in the foreground of a photo with a large group of students and a faculty member standing behind him on a set of stairs