Gilroy’s Hal Leister can often be found doing such tasks as
washing children’s toys as he volunteers many hours of his time at
what is known as the San Jose Scottish Rite temple.
“Serving children today that they may better serve the community tomorrow.”
– Slogan for the San Jose Scottish Rite Foundation
Gilroy’s Hal Leister can often be found doing such tasks as washing children’s toys as he volunteers many hours of his time at what is known as the San Jose Scottish Rite temple. Leister is a gentle giant of a man who is well over 6 feet tall with white hair and strikingly blue eyes.
This retired army colonel raised in South Carolina, has volunteered with the Masonic organization of Scottish Rite for eight years. Leister has held various offices as a mason and was recently installed as the official venerable master heading the San Jose Lodge of the Scottish Rite Temple.
He chauffeured me up to San Jose for an insider’s tour of the temple, where we were guided by Durward C. Ayre, outgoing venerable master and current director of the San Jose Scottish Rite Children’s Language Disorders Clinic at the temple.
It was fascinating to get a view into the workings of a place I would never ordinarily have the chance to visit. Leister is passionate about the clinic, which treats children who demonstrate significant delays in speech and language skills.
Children from ages 2 to 13 who once would have remained educationally and socially handicapped for a lifetime can receive free help from trained speech therapists at the clinic that will change their lives forever. The clinic is often a child’s last resort financially.
On my visit, I watched as clinician Rachel Sense worked with a young boy. Sense used flash cards and played a game with the child. As they worked on his speech, his mom was able to observe from the other side of a window into the room, so as not to disturb them. She was able to hear everything by turning up a speaker in the hallway that allowed her to listen to how her child was progressing.
“The kids always do better if parents are involved,” Ayre told me. “Parent participation is crucial.”
The two speech pathologists employed at the clinic have extensive language training and experience in child development. They are the real stars of the program who interact directly with the children on a day-to-day basis. Sense and the child play and joke as the child makes progress in his session. He frequently gives high fives and they both break into smiles.
“I see such a difference in him since he started coming here in September,” his mom says emotionally as she watches from outside the therapy room with a big smile on her face. “He used to be ashamed that he couldn’t say certain words or sounds. He would look down all the time and was giving up on even trying. He started just letting me answer when other people asked him things.
“Now he looks up at people, he interacts and he is so much more confident and willing to learn. His whole attitude has been boosted. He can socialize with other kids and he even sticks up for himself. He was rejected by other programs. I am so happy and grateful for the service here.”
The clinic is one of 112 Scottish Rite clinics, centers and special programs for children throughout the United States. A typical month at the clinic includes treatment of 55 children, completing more than 257 treatment hours.
At the end of the session, Leister catches my arm.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said as I turn away from my conversation with others in the office. “But I didn’t want you to miss seeing this.”
We watched a happy, confident little boy as he bounced out to a car.
“To see a kid who struggled to get words out and wouldn’t even make eye contact, and then to see that kid so happy and confident today,” said Leister shaking his head with emotion. “Seeing these kids learning language and enjoying life is what makes it all worthwhile.”
The clinic has a current waiting list of 102 children seeking help. Their goal is to hire another pathologist, but funding is needed. Donations can be made to San Jose Scottish Rite Children’s Language Disorders Clinic, P.O. Box 18220, San Jose, CA, 95158-8220 or contact Durward C. Ayre, Clinic Director, at [email protected] or call 978-7483.
