Amy O′Brien Soderstrom began her teaching career as a speech/language pathologist in 1972. Amy holds a B.A. degree in Speech/ Language Pathology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and a Master′s Degree in Speech/Language Development from Bowling Green State University. She initially taught in Dayton, Ohio and Huron, Ohio, then moved to Fort Myers, Florida, in 1977. She was hired as a speech/language pathologist for the Multi-County Hearing Impaired Program in 1977 and has continued to work at Allen Park Elementary until the present.
Ms. Soderstrom was influenced by her older sister, Katie, who was born with bilateral profound sensori-neural hearing loss. From her earliest memory, Amy was involved in deaf education. Amy was one of nine children and Katie was included in all family activities. Her parents influenced all of Katie′s siblings to communicate with Katie. As a result, Amy learned to communicate with the deaf at a very early age and, then continued her education to become a speech pathologist. After working as a speech pathologist for children who are deaf or hard of hearing Amy studied for and added certifications in the following areas: hearing disabilities, Exceptional Student Education, English Speakers for Other Languages, and Elementary Education K-6. She is a peer teacher and intern teacher and has presented throughout the district regarding hearing impairment and speech/language programs for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Ms. Amy has been honored by the following awards: Golden Apple, Teacher of the Year for Lee County, Teacher of the Year for Social Studies, Region 4 Teacher of the Year and a finalist for State Teacher of the Year. She has co-authored TLC: A Curriculum for Children with Limited Language. Additionally, Ms. Soderstrom authored the methodology Signs and Sounds: A Visual Approach to Teaching Phonics, using American Sing Language fingerspelling with use of manner, voice and placement.
Currently, Ms Soderstrom teaches at Allen Park and has a class of students in grades K, 1 and 2. She is the coordinator for the school recycling program called the Earth Huggers. She is the director for the Allen Park Singing and Signing Choir. She has two children, ″almost″ three grandchildren and resides in Cape Coral, Florida with her husband, Curt and her dog, Dita.
