Program Reviews

Traveling with Therapy Abroad and spending two weeks in Belize was amazing! It was super beneficial because we worked very closely with our supervisors, who were all SLP's. We were able to build connections, get advice, ask questions, and gain hands-on experience in the field. The camp was a great learning experience. The food throughout the whole trip was amazing and the staff was so helpful. I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in speech therapy.

Therapy Abroad provided me with first-hand clinical experience that I was unable to obtain during the past year or so of undergrad due to the pandemic. It allowed me to further explore my interest in speech-language pathology and learn from amazing SLPs and peers. I met so many amazing women whom I hope to stay in touch with as our futures progress, and I was able to learn a lot about the culture and the people of Belize while I was there. We were truly immersed in their way of living, which is not something that can always be said while visiting other countries on vacations.

Therapy Abroad was an experience of a life time for me! I had an open mind going into this trip and I was not disappointed. This opportunity allowed me to meet all types of people, gain experience in my field, learn about a different cultural and make lifelong memories. I would recommend this trip to any CSD student who is looking to gain more experience in speech therapy, challenge their skills and enjoys traveling! After completing this program, I feel so much more prepared and knowledgeable for graduate school. Thank you, Therapy Abroad!

I really enjoyed getting to know other speech-language pathology undergraduate students from all over the United States. The supervisors were amazing and super helpful when it came to running Tykes Camp. It was interesting to learn about Belizean culture, which provided helpful knowledge when working with our clients, especially with the language aspect of their culture. I wish the itinerary would have been followed more closely to allow for smoother scheduling. Overall, it was a great once-in-a-lifetime experience!

This trip was not exactly what was expected because of the pandemic, but despite the circumstances we were still given the most amazing opportunities. All of the staff were so helpful, caring, and hardworking so that we could have the best experiences possible. Thailand is the most amazing country with the kindest people. Before leaving I was very nervous being so far away from home for such a long time, but I didn't want to leave once the program was over. I am so thankful for this opportunity and I can't wait to visit Thailand again.

This is an excellent study abroad experience for aspiring SLPs looking for cultural immersion! Although overall it was really great, there were some details I wished I had known. This program is offered as a bilingual immersion to all levels of Spanish learners, but having earned a minor in Spanish through undergrad (but not considered advanced/fluent), I felt a little less prepared with how much I needed at first. However, I definitely learned a lot and came out of the program through perseverance, with improvement and confidence in speaking Spanish. Additionally, Tykes Camp with the kids was a little different than I had expected. It was interacting with the kids directly for 4 full days out of the 2 weeks, and was entirely in Spanish. We even wrote up our evaluation reports in Spanish. This was a surprising little challenge but forced me to learn and grow. During this camp, there was less focus on "speech" therapy and more on behavior regulation, so not quite what I expected to learn or practice, but still very valuable and applicable skills I can take with me into grad school. I loved that as an incoming graduate student, I was given the opportunity to run my own speech evaluation session on my own assigned case (and the undergrads and supervisors observed and assisted) which was a challenge that strengthened my personal and professional growth. Although we traveled there while COVID concerns were still lingering, we made the most of what we were able to do and felt safe. Everyone we met was amazing to work with and the group had so much fun together! The program leaders kept us very busy and I feel we made an impact in the time we were there. I'm very grateful I took the opportunity to experience this!

This an outstanding experience for students looking to gain hands on clinical skills and grow professionally, academically, and culturally. Therapy Abroad and the DREAM program provided the perfect balance between working hard and getting to enjoy the fun aspects of DR. We were able to learn about the culture of DR and try out some more "tourist" based activities like surfing and exploring the caves in Cabarete, while still working closely with students and the SLPs regarding speech services abroad. The owners of Therapy Abroad and supervising SLPs that attended provided endless opportunities for growth and learning, while adjusting to a variety of different skill levels and comfort zones. The other students that attended this trip were also absolutely AMAZING and I definitely left with life long friendships. On top of this, all of these experiences were done with the utmost safety in mind as we begin returning back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic. I cannot recommend this program enough!!

The best part of this trip was making life-long friends with all of the girls in our group, we all clicked immediately and were very uplifting to each other throughout the 2 weeks. We all came into this program with different levels of Spanish and experience in the field, but we all worked together to help the community in Cabarete. The tour guides were always so helpful and friendly; they fostered a safe and comfortable environment for everyone to feel free to ask questions and learn together. I definitely learned a lot though the experience of living there, interacting with the local community, and learning about the culture of DR in an immersive environment. I wish more focus and organization would have gone into the SLPs teaching "a semester's worth of info" clinically about bilingual speech pathology. We did have many discussions about our experiences there and general questions about speech, but sometimes our questions, both individually or as a group, were left half-answered.
On the plus side, in addition to working with the kids there for speech, there were a lot of culturally-focused activities and excursions that were included in the trip as well that were also fun (surfing, hiking, dancing, beach trip).
Overall, it was amazing and life changing. It definitely was such a unique experience that will set me apart from others in the field and I will definitely use all of what I learned in my career down the road.

As a communication disorders and sciences student, this trip was the perfect hands-on learning opportunity to introduce me into the diverse field of speech-language pathology. During my time in Belize, I got to challenge what I learned in the class room and put it to use in a multicultural environment working with people of various ages, disorders, etc. Although I learned so much about speech-language pathology, I really enjoyed the activities that we did during our trip such as zip lining in the jungle, cave tubing, visiting the monkey sanctuary, etc. However, my favorite part of the trip was learning about the Belizean culture and meeting the kind people that live there.

This experience has allowed me to walk away with many, many valuable friendships. This program gave me the opportunity to meet like-minded people that enjoy helping people, traveling, and Speech Language Pathology as much as I do. I was able to experience the Dominican culture in a unique way for which I am immensely grateful for. Due to the unique nature of a Communication Disorder related study abroad experience I feel this program has massive potential. Unfortunately, while it was fun to travel and experience Dominican culture, I felt the academic aspect of this program fell short. I had expected to observe SLPs evaluating, diagnosing, and treating children. I had also expected to then carry out those same procedures myself with the guidance of an SLP. Majority of the students in this program were around undergraduate level. I had just graduated with my undergraduate degree and therefore have no experience with evaluating, diagnosing, or treating. During the program I felt like I should have came prepared with that knowledge since there wasn't opportunity to observe. A few of the enrolled graduate students were allowed to perform an evaluation. Throughout the two week program, 4 of those days were dedicated to working with the children. The other week days consisted of planning for hypothetical situations and discussions. We had the opportunity to perform an unguided screening but there was no formal evaluation or diagnosis. I feel this program may better suit graduate students that are almost finished with their degree or recently graduated SLPs.

I'm excited to see this program grow and change. We definitely need Speech related study abroad opportunities and bilingual study abroad opportunities. I would love to come back as an SLP and support this program and watch what it can be become.