Teacher Feature: Walnut Avenue School's Susan McCarthy

It's not easy to get speech teacher Susan McCarthy to talk about herself. She would much rather talk about the work of the entire speech team at in Cranford, or about the accomplishments of the students she works with.

A Mountainside residents, the married, mother of three boys earned a bachelor's degree in speech and hearing and a master's degree in speech pathology. She also holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech and Hearing Association. McCarthy has been in the for 10 years and  works with primarily with preschool children - many of whom are on the autism spectrum. The teacher not only works on helping students with their speech in general, but with articulation and overcoming speech issues due to muscle weakness as well as language, forming sentences, use of vocabulary and how they communicate with their peers.

What is the most rewarding thing about being a speech teacher?

"Anytime there's that moment when everything seems to click with a student. When a child who wasn't speaking before, is now talking."

What do you like to do in your spare time?

"I'm at a lot of sporting events for my sons. I also like to travel." She's been to Mexico and Canada with her family. McCarthy also likes cooking. "People Love my buffalo chicken dip."

What's the funniest thing that's ever happened in the classroom?

"Some of my kids make such funny comments. Some of the little kids are so cute, that I find myself laughing along with them."

What's the best thing about working with younger children?

"I like being at the ground level of their development."

What do you tell a student who's getting discouraged during a lesson?

"If a child is having a hard time, I'll tell them that sometimes, it takes a long time to master something. I'll also try to find different ways to approach the problem. If that doesn't work, I'll look at what I'm doing wrong"