Have you ever wondered what happens when the parachute fails to open? You reach for the reserve parachute and it too fails. Most of the time the outcome is tragic. On a very rare occasion, you survive.
In those moments when everything feels hopeless that’s when you need a team who have belief in you, belief in progress and belief in therapy. Because belief isn’t blind optimism, it’s quiet confidence that with the right therapy and persistence, change will come.
Over the years, I’ve seen what happens when belief fades and what happens when it’s restored. Belief in speech therapy isn’t about wishful thinking; it’s about knowing that every child, teen, and adult can move forward with the right support. It’s about understanding that progress isn’t always instant, but it is always possible when we hold on to belief in ourselves, in our clients, and in the process.
Why Belief in Speech Therapy Matters
When therapists and families share belief in speech therapy, something powerful happens. That belief shapes persistence, creativity, and connection, all the things that drive progress.
Every therapist has a moment that reminds them why belief matters. For me, it came early in my career with a lesson that changed the way I think about recovery, persistence, and the human spirit.
Thirty years ago, I met a couple who shaped how I practice and what I believe about speech therapy. I was a student at The Prince Alexandra Hospital working in an acute ward. A man had plummeted from the sky when his parachute didn’t open. It was a miracle he lived.
Therapists and doctors were telling his wife, that he would never walk or talk again. Her response was fierce, clear and full of conviction:
“You do not know him. You do not know us. You do not know what we can do”.
Her words have stayed with me for more than three decades. They reminded me that belief isn’t something we hold alone. It’s something we share. That experience taught me that belief in speech therapy begins with the understanding that people are capable of more than their diagnosis, their reports, or their test scores. It’s the belief that when therapists, families, and clients unite around a shared purpose, remarkable progress becomes possible.
When Others Limit Your Child
Has a therapist, Doctor, Paediatrician, educator, or even a family member told you that your child will never…
- talk,
- have normal speech
- make a friend,
- attend a mainstream school,
- learn to read,
- get invited to a birthday party,
- have a relationship,
- work or
- live independently?
Have you laid awake at night wondering if your child will ever do these things?
The Power of Belief.
“You have to believe. Otherwise, it will never happen.”
Neil Gaiman
Belief creates possibility. If a therapist doesn’t believe a child can achieve, they will never provide the opportunities to learn. They won’t search for new strategies, break down skills, or teach the micro steps needed to reach a goal.
I’ve seen the impact many times.
A paediatrician said a child will always have to sound out every word and never read fluently. That child’s now an avid reader who is never without a book.
An Occupational Therapist told a family their child would never develop normal speech. He not only did but reached his goal before year 1. Today, you would never know he could only say “eeeee” when he started therapy.
A father once warned me that I wouldn’t be able to connect with his son or get him talking because he was autistic. Within minutes, we were in his world, playing, copying, engaging and exchanging sounds. It was one of my most connected first sessions.
Belief Drives Action
Research continues to show that what we believe shapes what we achieve. As highlighted in Stanford University’s article Why Mindset Matters, our mindset influences not just motivation but the choices and actions that follow.
Your belief determines your action and your action determines your results, but first you have to believe.
Mark Victor Hansen
Actions follow beliefs. When belief is absent, action rarely happens. Without belief, people don’t test possibilities or explore potential. They unintentionally shut the door before a child even begins.
I’ve seen this when I’m teaching a child to read. I set a goal for a child to learn to read one-syllable words. The school said it would never happen. The child will never be able to do that. The next year, I set the goal for three-syllable words. Again, they said no. The following year, my target was five-syllable words. Same response.
If a school doesn’t believe a child can read one-syllable words, they would never create the opportunity to try. Today, that same child now reads Twilight and Harry Potter, laughs in all the right places and says, “Mum, listen to this part!”
When Belief is Scarce
For some families, the battle to have someone believe in their child starts at the very time they are born. Parents are told even at the hospital:
- “Don’t expect your child to go to a mainstream school.”
- “University won’t be an option.”
- “Driving a car won’t happen.”
Some children are even given a diagnosis of Intellectual disability without proper assessment, based only on a genetic condition.
It also happens when children are diagnosed later in life. Parents call me from the car in tears “my child just got diagnosed”. In that moment, their dreams collapse.
I remind them:
Their child is the same person they were before that appointment. Their name is still their name. Our goals remain our goals.
Labels can build walls if misunderstood. When a school says a child has dyslexia, some parents shift their dreams to safer, smaller ones: “Well they’ll be an athlete, a dancer, a hairdresser, or a tradie.” The label becomes a ceiling, not a starting point.
Yet the diagnosis is actually the turning point. The cue to act, learn and build skills using the way the child learns best.
What We Believe Matters
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Professionals hold enormous power. We can give or take away belief. The truth is: removing belief is not our job.
Our role as speech pathologists is to believe in possibility, to find the strategies, to teach the skills and to scaffold the micro-steps toward progress. I’m not asking for neurosurgeons. I want children to live a full, joyful, independent life, whatever that looks like for them.
Beliefs → Actions → Results
“Our beliefs determine our actions and it is our consistent actions that will produce results”.
Billy Cox
So what happened to the man whose parachute didn’t open?
In hospital, they said he would never walk or talk. Three years later, at the Prince Charles outpatient clinic, I taught him to read and write because he was already walking and talking.
His wife believed. They acted. They did the work.
And the results followed.
Your Turn
What does your child need to achieve?
What do you hope for their future?
With belief, the right strategies, skill-building, micro-steps, practice and determination, the possibilities widen. I don’t know where your child will land but I do know this:
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”
Henry Ford
Want to be part of something that matters?
Feeling inspired to make a difference with a team that leads with heart?
We’re always looking for passionate clinicians and AHAs who believe in real change.
See how you can join us.
Continue the Power Series
If this resonated with you, explore the other pillars in this series:
- The Power of Why– rediscovering purpose and joy in what we do
- The Power of Connection – the heart of every transformation
- The Power of Partnerships – why therapy works best when parents and therapists team up
Each story in the Power Series explores a different way communication transforms lives for families, therapists, and teams alike.