Some Family History for Better Speech and Hearing Month

Myrtie Marie Bryan (1901-1986)

Aunt Marie was born in 1901. I met her as a very young child and don't really remember her. My father once told me that she had a "speech problem" and that her father, my grandfather, took her from Texas to Oklahoma by wagon to see a speech correctionist. Dad said that Marie's speech was unintelligible as an adult  and that only close friends and family could understand her. I spent time looking for information about Marie recently and my father's statement was the only mention of her speech issues. 

Woodsman Circle
Marie is in the center, directly in front of the tallest girl. 

As an adult, Marie attended church regularly, liked to paint, and played bridge. As a young girl, she belonged to the Woodsman Circle, the BYU - a Baptist youth organization, and, according to her 10th grade report card, had excellent deportment and received good to excellent grades. 

On a cousin's Facebook page, was a picture of Marie titled, "Aunt Marie, World's Greatest Cook" and next to her senior picture, in her high school yearbook, was, "Marie - If her work counts, success is hers. Her record shows no trace of blurs."

When I asked family about Marie, no one talked about her unintelligible speech until I asked specifically. I don't think that Dad would have even mentioned her speech if I had not chosen this profession. 

The visit or visits to the speech correctionist were obviously not enough to help Marie and I am sure that her articulation disorder had some kind of negative impact on her life. I am happy to know that family and friends didn't define Marie by her disability; however, I wonder how different Aunt Marie's life would have been if given the opportunities that our students and clients have now. 

Diana

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