Kidd-Gilchrist Helps CHS, Families in Return to Lexington

By Ryan Clark and Ella Rosner
CHS Contributors

When Michael Kidd-Gilchrist first met Meg Shake in 2011, he posed a question.

“Are you going to the Final Four?” he asked.

“Probably not,” Shake responded. “Are you going to the Final Four?”

“Yeah,” Kidd-Gilchrist replied.

And the freshman basketball player was correct. He would, in fact, lead his Kentucky team to the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans. And while his coaches and teammates provided guidance, he would discover that he also needed the help of his speech pathologist.

That would be Meg Shake, MS, CCC-SLP.

Because the basketball player, for all his talent and skills, also had a crippling stutter, something he’d never learned to control. Instead, he coped by avoiding situations, such as public speaking. But being a part of the hugely successful Wildcat basketball team made hiding impossible.

For every interview, every speech, and every sit-down with a teacher or administrator, Shake was there — sometimes as much as three times per week — to help Kidd-Gilchrist to prepare.

“It was the biggest challenge of my career,” said Shake, formerly a speech pathologist in the College of Health Sciences and now a clinician at UK HealthCare. Back then, she did not know basketball; she did not know the pressures put on high-profile student athletes at a school like Kentucky. “It was a real learning curve,” she said.

And together, she and Kidd-Gilchrist told their story to a crowd of more than 40 at the Worsham Cinema in the Gatton Student Center Saturday afternoon, in the first of two events the former NBA star returned to Lexington to host for both healthcare professionals and families of children who stutter. Through his nonprofit, Change & Impact, Inc., Kidd-Gilchrist provided regional speech-language pathologists with a no-cost continuing education program titled “School-Age Children Who Stutter: Assessing & Treating the Impact on Their World.”

“It is always very hard to be open about what I go through,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “But I do know … there’s kids out there just like me. It’s always a pleasure to be here, but also to pay it forward.”

The speech pathologists in the crowd were able to ask questions of the pair, who shared details of how Kidd-Gilchrist was able to improve.

“If we have a child who works harder at things, we tend to admire and applaud that,” Shake said. “Kids who stutter work harder to talk. I think that is a great lesson we can take from Michael’s mom that we can share with parents. We know it’s hard, you worry about your child, you worry about the future, all of the things. But let’s look at how hard your child is working to share with you and let’s applaud that.”

Shake also said the two were able to bond over things they loved, which enabled them to trust one another.

“It wasn’t always about basketball,” Shake said. “Michael taught me about Philly cheesesteaks and loving family and being far away from home. We all love to talk about what we love. Discover what your client loves and start there.”

Later in the evening, the Fourth Annual Change & Impact Bowling Blast brought together children who stutter, their families and local speech-language pathologists for an evening of celebration and bowling at LexLive.

Founded in 2021, Change & Impact works to improve access to healthcare and expand services for people who stutter. Kidd-Gilchrist created the organization to raise awareness, educate communities and advocate for greater inclusion and resources.

“For me, it is very important to be on the ground and to be involved and be open,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “It is always going to be hard and that is fine with me now. I have a responsibility to help others just like myself.”

For more information about Change & Impact, visit www.changeandimpactinc.org