Program Reviews

From the day I arrived in the town of Cabarete, I felt at home because everyone on the team gives you a warm welcome. The people of Cabarete are very welcoming; I never felt unsafe in the town. Having the opportunity to work with kids was an unforgettable experience, you learn and grow so much. The camp was 6 days and we worked with 9 children with speech problems. My partner and I were in charge of pretend play and everyday we planned new activities to have the children engaged. We were also assigned to observe a child throughout camp and later we met with our child's parents and teachers to exchange information and write an observation report. I also noticed how much they are in need of speech pathologists in Cabarete and the rehab center in Puerto Plata, which is why I would love to go back once I become an SLP and advocate for my Latino community. If you are planning on becoming a speech language pathologist I definitely recommend Therapy Abroad. You will have an unforgettable experience that will follow you through your career.

This is the only bilingual speech therapy program out there! It was such an amazing experience to get to meet others with the same passion as you. I learned so much about the development of children regarding speech and fine and gross motor skills all in Spanish. I think that prepping this camp was a great opportunity to see what planning and working with children with different disabilities would be like. It gave me hands-on experience working with these children. Also, observing the bilingual speech therapists on the trip during their screenings of children helped me gain a better understanding of the evaluation aspect of this field. This program expanded my knowledge on vocabulary in Spanish in this field and helped solidify my passion to become a bilingual speech-language pathologist.

This experience was incredibly special and unique. I had the opportunity to set up a speech and language camp that was designed to help nine local children. We were all assigned a child that we would be responsible for observing the entire camp. After the camp, we had to write observation reports about our child. This gave me so much hands-on experience, and taught me things about this field that I would have never learned in a classroom. I was the only participant from Iowa, and because of this trip I am excited to present to everyone everything I learned. Having two licensed and very experienced SLPs on this trip with us was also amazing. We were able to observe informal clinical observations of a variety of different children from the DR. The best part of it ALL was that every single part of it was in Spanish! I grew as a student and as a person because of this program.

This program met all my expectations and further, going above and beyond to make us 12 students feel comfortable, safe, and have fun! We ran a 6-day Tykes camp for children with communication disorders and delays, observed some screenings, and went on many fun excursions, like jumping in cave pools and going to the beach. Almost every night we had dinner on the beach, and we even learned bachata and went out dancing for Latino night! The hotel was right by the school and many dinner locations, and had a pool to dive into after a sweaty morning's work! There was always enough down time in the afternoon to rest up for the evening and the next day. This experience is wonderful for anyone looking to garner experience in bilingual speech-language pathology and have lots of fun along the way!

This program exceeded every expectation I had for it. I got to experience things that most studying SLPs will not get the chance to experience until Grad school. We were given the opportunity to perform speech and hearing screenings in schools, run a special education camp for students, and observe treatment sessions in the homes of children in the area. It pushed me out of my comfort zone in every way possible, but in doing so it made me into a stronger, better person. I came out of this program with a new sense of confidence in myself and my abilities as a clinician. I was able to learn things about behavior regulation, working with special education students, lesson planning, thinking on my feet, cultural competence in regards to the SLP profession, and most importantly I learned how to use my failures to my advantage and grow and change from them. Being surrounded by 12 likeminded people I was able to create lifelong friendships and connections with undergraduate students from across the US and Canada whom I never would have had the chance to meet otherwise. I was also able to create connections with 3 practicing SLPs from across the US and Australia who I know I will be able to turn to for help and advice in the future, as well as for letters of recommendation in applying to grad school. In addition to all the hard work we put into to bettering the lives of children in Belize, we got to experience the best of what Belize has to offer including incredible local food, cave tubing, zip lining, the Altun Ha archeological site, and snorkeling on Caye Caulker Island. I am beyond grateful to therapy abroad for this experience and everything they have done for me.

Therapy Abroad gave me an opportunity to gain cultural knowledge and experience in my field of interest. I got a glimpse of what it would be like to work as a speech-language pathologist in a school setting. I was exposed to aspects of speech-language pathology that I have not yet seen or learned about in my education. Therapy Abroad provided hands on experience, which is a great way to learn outside of a textbook. My time in Belize was unforgettable. Besides learning how to work as a clinician, we were able to experience and learn about Belizean culture. I was also able to seek advice from my supervisors and fellow peers. I have made connections with students and professionals from all over the country, which I feel will benefit me in the long run.

Two weeks in the beautiful country of Belize changed me in more ways than I can count! Our time was filled with learning, growing, seeing, meeting, eating, failing, achieving, adventuring, hammock-ing, and so much more. Being able to interact directly with local children and families, while also witnessing some of the most beautiful scenes in the country, this made for the perfect balance of work and play. The food was incredible, as the people of Belize and Monkey Bay are filled with hospitality. I know for a fact that my experience would not have been what it was if we wouldn't have stayed at Monkey Bay Sanctuary. This immersion into the environment was irreplaceable; the locals who worked there, the nature all around us, and of course, the hammocks. I left Belize having more trust and confidence in myself. On the last day, my team leader asked me what my biggest lesson I learned was while on the trip. I thought about it for a while, and finally I said to her, "If I could put this trip's lesson into one sentence, it would be, "I can do this."" I wouldn't trade my time in Belize for anything!

What an amazing experience! I enjoyed so many things on this trip! One thing I will never forget is the feeling of self-satisfaction by making a difference in Belize. Learning to make quick decisions and being flexible is the key to this program. I am so happy that I was able to get first-hand experience of screenings and treatment. This is a program for you if you want to grow in the field of COMD. The coordinators and co-founder of Therapy Abroad have a lot of knowledge of Belize. They were very encouraging on immersing travelers on the Belizean culture! That was definitely great advice because I was able to get the most out of the trip by doing so. Aside from the program, Belize is filled with nice people and I felt very welcomed. Belize now has a special place in my heart! This is an experience I will never forget.

Being a part of the assessment process and contributing to the evaluations given by administering hearing, speech and/or language screenings gave myself a first-hand look at what our career does along with a valuable experience. A shared goal accompanied by true dedication with like-minded people taught me countless lessons about myself, life in general, communication disorders, what it means to be a speech-language pathologist, culture awareness, diversity, BELIZE, etc. And I cannot forget to mention all the friends and bonds I have made during this trip that I will forever cherish.
Seeing the profession at all different levels: SLP, SLPA, undergrad student's, with the professor's assistance, gave all of us a great insight of how much hard work, dedication, and willingness to exceed expectations is within each of us. Combining the work with fun activities made this trip even better.
This was a one in a life time experience that I will never forget and only solidified the fact that I am in the right and best profession there is!

Therapy Abroad does an amazing job at making your two weeks in Belize the best time you could ever have. This was such an incredible and unique experience where I was able to learn so much about speech-language pathology and also have a blast. Belize is such an amazing and beautiful country and Therapy Abroad does a great job at ensuring that we work and get to play! I am so thankful that this program allows students of all skill levels to learn and grow together. During this trip you not only learn so much but also create friendships that will last a lifetime. Everything about this trip is organized and very well done, Therapy Abroad does a great job at planning and keeping their students safe! Whether I was teaching kids or swimming with sharks, it was the best experience of my life and I would love to do it again someday!