Astell and Christie Have Decades of Specialized Service in the Cascade School District

Cascade School District celebrates the work of Megan Christie and Stephanie Astell. Christie, the district’s speech/language pathologist (SLP), and Astell, the physical therapist (PT), help individuals with specific tasks, such as articulating certain sounds or fine or gross motor skills. These two professionals have worked a cumulative forty-two years in this district, and they support students in every grade. Astell’s average case load is about two dozen students, while Christie’s is about four dozen.

“Very often, children may display a delay in an area, and I am able to provide intervention to bridge that gap,” said Astell. “These delays may involve visual motor or fine motor skills that impact a student’s ability to form letters so they can write. I work with these children (and their teachers), so they can gain the skills to participate with their peers.”

“I work with kids who have speech and/or language impairments,” explained Christie. “These students generally receive services in the area of articulation skill development and do not receive any other special education services.”

Such students might only need support for a year or two. “It’s great when a child can be exited from services. That is always the ultimate goal,” said Christie. “And it’s really fun to see them years later in the hall at IRMS or CHS and have them remember me and say, ‘Hi!’”

Other students need PT and SLP as part of a larger suite of special services, sometimes for their entire educational years. “Each student’s needs are unique. We work with children with known diagnoses such as autism, Down Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy, or Cerebral Palsy,” explained Astell. “These children are often diagnosed at a young age, so they typically begin therapy before the age of three. I just had my first student, whom I met when he was three, graduate last year. The relationships that are built with students and their families is very special and important.”

Collaboration with other staff is key. “I collaborate with both general and special education teachers,” said Astell. “Many of my students are in the life skills classrooms, so I have frequent interaction with the special education teacher and paraeducators.” They are both involved with students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP), which brings together a team of staff and the parents to plan and measure progress toward goals each year.

Tyler Cox, school psychologist, works with both women on IEPs. “Stephanie and Megan support the ‘whole child’ approach to education by providing motor, speech, and language services for students from birth to twenty-one years old,” said Cox. “They offer a wealth of experience and insight, not only in their respective fields, but in the field of special education as a whole. They are always seeking out creative ways to help students succeed! I am thankful to have Stephanie and Megan as colleagues and friends.”

In-person learning is preferred and, thankfully, has been able to occur, for the most part, during the pandemic. “Many special education students are in-person, so I see them during their in-person school day. There are a few kids who are remote only, and I zoom with them,” said Christie.

In one way, their jobs have gotten easier during these last months—having a set space to work. They’ve always had to float and adapt in the past, because there are no therapy rooms in the schools. “I’ve worked in the cafeteria, the gym, the library, hallways, outside,” said Astell. “I may work in a classroom, alongside a student in their general education class. Just depends. The bright spot of COVID is that we had to identify a designated treatment spot to allow for adequate and consistent cleaning.”

Christie added, “This year, with COVID, PD has made space in a storage room that we are currently sharing, so at least we have a door and somewhere to store materials. Usually we have to cart them around from building to building.” In the other schools, they utilize temporarily unused rooms.

Hopefully, when schools return to full in-person education, Astell and Christie won’t be relegated to hallways again. 

Even with the challenges, Astell said, “Being able to work in the school environment, at all levels is such a treat, because each age group is unique.” She also mentioned that working with children over the years, she’s received her share of “smiles and hugs.”