BUFFALO, N.Y. — Helping people find ways to communicate is pretty much the job description for speech therapists.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this career is expected to grow 19% from 2022 to 2032, which is much faster than average.

They're services vital to people like Becky, who's struggled with finding a voice for 32 years.

“Becky has been special since she was born,” explained Tim Terrana, Becky’s dad.

It’s been something Becky’s struggled with for 32 years.

Because of a rare gene mutation, Becky deals with a lot of developmental delays. A year and a half ago, after her dad insisted she be retested to see if speech therapy could help. They found it could, and recently, the communication has been flowing a bit easier.

“Within a month, she was starting to get good with the buttons and then we just progressed a little bit at a time,” said Terrana.

It’s the impact speech therapy can make.

“This might sound simple, you know, she wants food or she hits the other [card] that she wants to drink," said Terrana. "I leave these out, she'll come up to me and hand it to me like, 'OK, I'm hungry,' and that means a lot to somebody who hasn't been able to do that in their entire lifetime.”

These are strides that officials at The Arc of Erie County say they see students make all the time.

“We work on cognitive skills, like their comprehension, their understanding. We work on feeding and swallowing; that's a big part of our caseload,” explained Lisa Coughlin, the coordinator of speech services for the Arc Erie County.

Their clientele typically needs more help, physically or cognitively, so any pause in services can be a big deal.

“When they are not getting the direct therapy, the classroom staff can carry over some of it, but they're not going to progress,” said Coughlin.

With speech therapists in high demand, some places are seeing shortages, not just in Western New York, but nationwide.

“In the summer of 2020, my predecessor retired and I took over," said Coughlin. "Since I started in this position, I have not had a full speech department.”

They’re only down one or two people right now. Some have gone to school districts and others to telehealth, but the loss is never easy, and the solution isn’t, either.

“No parent wants to hear that," said Coughlin. "They don't want to hear that their child is being disrupted."

“She's really come out of her shell,” said Terrana.

Becky’s dad tries to do the best he can to reinforce lessons her speech therapists work on, but without them, he could get lost.

“I don't know where things progress, you know, I kind of pick up on what they do,” he explained.

That is why he’s grateful for those who are in this field, helping students like Becky.

“They're angels," he said. "They're angels here on Earth; they're really a wonderful thing.”

Since students at the Arc have state mandates for their speech therapy, and kids who have been disrupted do have make-up sessions. The Arc has a person in place for that who’s essentially focused on those makeups for the summer.