TinyEYE Blog

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."

~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

Roshan Hoover and Greg Sutton celebrating the award on behalf of the TinyEYE team.

TinyEYE won an award of excellence for health innovation. Being recognized for innovation is heartening since it implies that something of value was created because of an idea, blended in with all the factors that transcend a dream.

Idea: To build software and services to reach children who are in need of speech therapy. Yes, I would “beam” to communities with all my fun therapy tools at my fingertips. Kids would learn that their listening ears and words are magical because characters on the screen would animate at their request. Parents and teachers would have support services anytime. Cars and pens would become irrelevant to reaching children and making a difference. What an idea.

On day #1 of our mission, Greg told me that if our idea were going to work, we would have to remember the rules:

RULE #1: Acknowledge that there will be highs, there will be lows

RULE #2: We must never, ever quit during a low

Believe me, there were many times when one of us had to remind the other to “check the rules and call me in the morning – it is against the rules to quit during a low”. Each time we got back up and stood on top of a “low”, we gained competence, stamina, and a step closer to excellence.

Fast forward to today – you will see a bustling team of believers who contribute to our students through the creation of leading edge software, the provision of specialized therapy services, and the cultivation of honourable business practices. We believe so strongly in our purpose that we would continue with or without recognition. However, we really value and appreciate receiving an award of excellence for something we have breathed our hearts into year after year, through the highs and over the lows. With all the strength that Greg, CEO, earned on his road to receiving an award of excellence, he was well prepared to accept the honour. The next day, he shared this with our team:

On Saturday night, at the 26th annual Saskatchewan Awards for Business Excellence – ABEX Awards, TinyEYE won the Health Innovation Award. I would like to personally thank each and every one of you for your hard work and dedication in making this happen. There are over 40,000 businesses in Saskatchewan and being a finalist for these prestigious awards is honour enough, winning one is truly amazing. We truly have a remarkable team!!!!

If a school district in your area needs Speech-Language Pathologists, please let me know by email as we at TinyEYE can help!

All the best to you,

Marnee Brick, MSc
Speech-Language Pathologist and Director of Speech Therapy
TinyEYE Therapy Services (Speech Therapy Telepractice)

Growing smiles, mending spirits, engaging children in their lives

http://www.TinyEYE.com-Online Speech Therapy Telepractice

“Dreams are like rocket ships, they take you places you would not otherwise go.”

~Marnee

Hi Everyone,

Teaching children the art of making a dream-come-true is the secret to our world’s healing and longevity. What happens between making-up a dream and living a dream? Dream dust. Dream dust relates to all those steps that have to happen along the road to a dream-come-true. There is an art to making a dream come true. Following is an explanation of why some dreams become trapped:

1. Dreamer: You have a dream – but no dream dust. You ache to achieve or experience something specific in your life, but have not taken the steps or made a game plan to move forward. You may hear yourself dreaming, “I wish I could do that.” Next step: Create some focused dream dust that will serve as your pathway to a dream-come true.
2. Duster: You exude a bunch of dream dust, but have not swept it up to a specific dream. Something wonderful may lie ahead if you would only steer all the energy and hard work towards a milestone achievement or experience. You may hear yourself saying, “Why can’t that be me?” Next step: Decide that it WILL be you. Set a goal. Corral your efforts towards grabbing that dream for yourself.
3. Doubter: Maybe you are already living a dream come true. Whether or not you dreamt this to be yours, you find yourself in something wonderful. Pick one aspect of your life. Maybe it is your home, family, security, health, job, independence, peace of mind, or even hope. What is it that you cannot bear to live without? Happiness is counting your blessings.

Have you helped a child find a dream come true? Here are some considerations:

• We need to encourage children to believe that there is a place out there beyond their reality and that they hold the power within them to be the change.
• Every child needs a dream catcher – a person who unconditionally believes in them, provides guidance and resources, and shows them in small and big ways how they can make things happen. Kids must see adults demonstrate perseverance, problem solving, resourcefulness, positive self-talk, and celebration. Disappointment is not a stop sign. Show them how a bump in the road or a U-turn is simply part of the journey.
• The person who believes in himself the longest is often the person who reaches the destination. Teach children to never give up on themselves. They are worthy and capable. This world is theirs to have. Their dreams are theirs to grow.
• Help them explore our world and places they could go. Likewise, show them all the technology and abilities we have in this world that were not even invented before they were born. All these things were simply people’s ideas. These dreamers were once kids, too. The secret is that they dared to imagine…then they took one step. They repeated this until they succeeded. It took Thomas Edison nearly 1100 tries before he came up with the light bulb that worked well. Ask your students if they have 1100 tries in them!
• Help your students experience a dream come true. With your students, decide what would be a real treat or accomplishment for the classroom. Initially, it is helpful to practice dreaming with a goal that is likely to come true sooner than later. The sense of accomplishment that arises will encourage children to dream further from their immediate grasp. Examples of classroom goals might be a fun fieldtrip, a class purchase, a world record, or a feel good goal such as doing something incredibly kind for a family in need. Don’t forget the dream-dust…all the steps that need to happen before the dream comes true. Will it take five bake sales organized by the students? Will the students have to polish teacher’s shoes for a dollar each? Specifically model and elicit the steps to achieving the goal and then celebrate a job well done.

My parents taught me all about dream-come-trues. I watched them grow dreams from scratch my entire life. That is why I bellowed THANK YOU in the Atlantic Ocean this weekend. You see, as a girl who grew up on the prairies, I am used to seas of wheat – not oceans of water. Finding myself in the ocean was exhilarating. Long ago, I decided that one of my dreams was to kayak in the Atlantic Ocean. Then, at the local fair, I took a picture of myself in a kayak so I could envision myself achieving my dream. Next, I took kayak lessons in a pool – just in case I ever found myself in an ocean with a kayak. When my husband mentioned he had a business trip on the east coast, I gratefully arranged for grandpa and grandpa to stay with my children and I jumped on the plane. Within hours of arriving, I was kayaking on the Atlantic Ocean with my husband and three nuns. I could not imagine better company! Our youthful guide’s name was Peter. I think his full name was Peter Pan because I am sure I saw some dream dust following his wake. A girl can dream.

Dream Picture (this is a picture of me wishing I could kayak in the ocean):

Dream come true picture:

If a school district in your area needs Speech-Language Pathologists, please let me know by email as we at TinyEYE can help!

All the best to you,

Marnee Brick, MSc
Speech-Language Pathologist and Director of Speech Therapy
TinyEYE Therapy Services (Speech Therapy Telepractice)

Growing smiles, mending spirits, engaging children in their lives

http://www.TinyEYE.com-Online Speech Therapy Telepractice

"Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well."

John W. Gardner

Hi Everyone,

Riddle: I interact with my team every day. We can see each other. We can talk. We share messages, support, and ideas. We can pop into each other’s offices any time. Unless we meet at conferences, out-reach trips, or other gatherings, we are never in the same building - we are never in the same town. How does this happen?

We are TinyEYE therapists. We are a virtual therapy team. At home, we each have our own on-line therapy office that we use to connect with each other and with students at their schools. Regardless of which TinyEYE SLP is matched with your school, your students will participate in specialized, engaging sessions that will make a difference right before your eyes. We serve the TinyEYE way. One trick to working virtually (yet as a cohesive team) is to have clear, shared team values. Below is a the portrayal of a TinyEYE Therapist. This is what we believe – this is how we serve.

Who is a TinyEYE Therapist?

Growing smiles, mending spirits, engaging children in their lives…

You are a valued member of TinyEYE’s elite therapy team. It is our privilege to serve. We do not divide and conquer. Rather, we unite and overcome. We are one voice. When communities ask for a TinyEYE therapist, they know exactly the service excellence to expect – and we deliver.

Talent Triangle: Character, Skill, Spark

Individually and as a cohesive team, we constantly nurture our talent triangle. The three sides represent our team values: character, skill, and spark.

Character – Integrity is our guide. As grateful visitors in our schools and communities, we serve with humble respect and relevance. We commit our service time to sustaining positive energy, complete professionalism, and eloquent etiquette. Exuding a can-do attitude, we support and celebrate one another. Together, we bring a collective base of intelligence, specialty, innovation, and dedication that cannot be found on any other team. We shine.

Skill - As cohesive members of a leading edge therapy team, we possess a unique skill-set that combines the world’s first ever comprehensive integrated therapy software with polished professional performance. We are life learners. In the spirit of learning, we continuously seek and share knowledge to advance our ability to provide service excellence. Committed to making a difference to every child we serve, we mindfully and effectively provide services that give children a better tomorrow than they had yesterday. We change lives.

Spark - The sparkle in our eyes, the joy in our voice, and our ability to see the star in every child are the gifts we bring to each interaction. Because we understand the heart of a child, we care so much that we contribute to its contentment. Because we understand the fragile self-concept of a child, we care so much that we contribute to building self-esteem. And because we understand the value of our service, we care so much about contributing in a way that is relevant and important to the life of each child. Our students become experts. We grow smiles, mend spirits, and engage children in their lives.

It is our privilege to serve

If a school district in your area needs Speech-Language Pathologists, please let me know by email as we at TinyEYE can help!

All the best to you,

Marnee Brick, MSc
Speech-Language Pathologist and Director of Speech Therapy
TinyEYE Therapy Services (Speech Therapy Telepractice)

Growing smiles, mending spirits, engaging children in their lives

http://www.TinyEYE.com-Online Speech Therapy Telepractice