Hi Diary,
Recently, I’ve started to think that being a speech-language therapist might be one of the most fortunate careers a person can have.
There are few jobs where being an adult still allows you to play with toys, make silly sounds, and get excited about the smallest things. A little childlike curiosity belongs in this work. It helps us enter a child’s world and speak their language: toys and play.
A toy car, a tower of blocks, or a familiar game can become an invitation to connect. Through play, we find ways to understand children and help them express themselves. While I’m helping them grow, they also help me keep a younger part of myself alive.
It is meaningful, respectable work. It may not bring the greatest financial rewards, but it gives me a privilege I’m learning to treasure: witnessing my clients’ growth. A new gesture, a sound, a word, or a shared moment can mean so much to a child and their family. Being part of those moments feels special.
I’m also finding that my experience as a teacher in inclusive education continues to help me. It makes me more aware of the concerns families bring into the therapy room: whether their child can participate at school, make friends, communicate their needs, and feel understood. Behind each therapy goal is a child trying to find their place, and a family hoping to support them.
Still, building a life and working in Beijing can sometimes feel lonely.
Moving here was a leap of faith. From what I’ve seen so far, public awareness of paediatric rehabilitation and speech therapy is still developing. The professional structures and pathways also feel less established than those I knew in Hong Kong. I’m learning how to work within a different environment while finding my own footing as a therapist.
Outside my colleagues, I still know very few people here. There are moments when I miss having familiar people nearby—people I can meet without planning, or talk to without first explaining my whole story.
So I’m trying to reach out. I’m looking to connect with the HKU and CUHK alumni associations in Beijing and the Hong Kong & Macao Youth Beijing Club (港澳青年北京匯). I’ve also joined the SENIA–Beijing Chapter, where I hope to meet others who share an interest in special educational needs and inclusive education. I hope these connections will gradually bring friendship, a sense of belonging, and opportunities to contribute to my new community.
Whenever I introduce myself as a speech-language therapist, there may also be a small opportunity to raise awareness. A conversation might help someone understand what speech therapy involves, or see children with special educational needs with a little more understanding. I hope that, over time, these everyday encounters can make a positive difference.
The work here is also stretching me professionally. Many of the children I see have complex neurodevelopmental needs, and these cases seem to make up a larger part of my caseload than they did during my experience in Hong Kong. I keep learning, revisiting what I know, and thinking carefully about how to provide the best support I can for each child and family.
Something my boss said has stayed with me: many families have already tried dozens of centres before finding their way to us. I might be the first—or perhaps the only—professional speech-language therapist they have ever met.
“So be that one.”
I feel the weight of those words. These families may arrive carrying years of questions, frustration, and hope. I want to be someone who listens carefully, explains clearly, recognises the limits of their own knowledge, and keeps learning so that the support they offer is thoughtful and sound.
That responsibility can feel daunting, especially while I’m still finding my footing here. But it also gives my work a sense of purpose. If I have the opportunity to be that person for a family, I want to make it count.
I don’t yet know exactly where this leap will take me. For now, I’m building a life here through the work I do and the people I meet.
There is something hopeful about being able to help children grow while learning how to grow into a new home myself.
No comments yet