Program Reviews

I was unsure what was in stock for in on my Therapy Abroad journey starting out and I'm so glad I got the experience I did! Traveling to Belize during the summer of 2018 I had hands-on therapy experience every day. Working with amazing SLPs I was given a chance to practice without the fear of a grade looming over my head. Getting to experience all of this while making connections with other students from around the country gave me 12 lasting friendships that we have continued after returning home. On top of the therapy, we also were given the chance to go on fun excursions that I will never forget. The knowledge I obtained during my time in Belize helped me immensely throughout my following semester and made me feel like I had a leg up starting out my final year of college strong!

Therapy abroad was by far the best experience I have had. The staff is awesome and you get to spend two full weeks with students like yourself learning, bonding, and experiencing everything the beautiful country Belize has to offer.

As for the clinical aspect of the program…IT WAS AMAZING!!! Therapy abroad sets up a program called Tykes Camp where children that have been previously screened are chosen to attend the two week long camp. You get paired up with another aspiring SLP on the trip with you and the two of you get assigned a kiddo. You spend the first day of the camp evaluating their speech, communication, and behavior skills. Then it is up to you and your partner to come up with a diagnosis, as well as a plan for the future. For the two weeks you are there, you work with the kiddo based off of your plan, and when you leave the next person after you can continue your plan with the child. I was able to evaluate, diagnose, and follow through with lesson plans, and SOAP notes as if I was a real life practicing clinician. The supervisors are great and they are there to teach you and guide you, but they take a step back and let you run the show. If something went wrong (and trust me it will) they were there to step in and help.

Not only does this program allow you to advance your skills, but it also changes the lives of so many children. In the entire country of Belize there is one practicing SLP, so they need as much help as they can get. ALSO…. there is so much more to the program. Yes the best thing is getting to go to another country to help others, but therapy abroad does a nice balance of work and play. On the weekends you will spend your time adventuring through the Mayan Ruins, go cave tubing, snorkeling, and so much more. And the friendships you make on this trip are for a lifetime. I still talk to all 14 of the girls that were on the program with me.

This program helped me to understand myself better as a clinician and a person and I would recommend it to every aspiring SLP. Please, please, please do it, you will not regret it one bit.

My first experience volunteering abroad was with Therapy Abroad, which I heard about through my graduate program. The staff was extremely supportive and made sure that all of our needs were taken care of. It was made clear in the beginning to let someone know immediately if you have any needs or discomforts. The lead therapists were considerate and made sure everyone was comfortable on a daily basis. The housing was clean and comfortable. There were community areas with wifi. Food was made daily with a variety of options. There were food options for various dietary restrictions as well (you just have to let the staff know). In regards to therapy, I experienced a great balance of work and fun. I had the opportunity to learn more about clinical aspects and experience cultural immersion. We also had the opportunity to see a few local attractions.

Therapy Abroad provided me with insane experiences from learning about Belizean culture and wildlife to getting hands on experience working with speech pathologists and linguists. We went zip-lining, cave tubing, to a zoo, to the Caye Caulker island and had a blast! Aside from that fun weekend stuff, I was able to actively participate and ask questions, and kept a thorough journal of everything I did in my time there for the future. We did community based rehab and was able to trail the speech pathologist/linguist doing the assessment, as well as learning how to do an oral mechanism exam! These are opportunities that are not presented in the United States because of safety and security reasons. I am so grateful for the people I've met and the opportunities presented to me. I would definitely go again.

I had an amazing time! Everyday was something new, but I really loved that we were able to learn more about S.O.A.P. Notes and how to write a lesson plan before we went into the city to have our own client. I appreciated how fun and lighthearted everyone was. I also loved that I was getting hands-on experience. My patient was a three-year-old with a hearing loss. Being around others from different schools and in different years at school, we were able to bounce ideas off each other and learn new techniques. I was very nervous about not knowing enough, but I enjoyed that the supervisors gave more learning tools to everyone and held mini classes. I was able to learn more about taking data, developing goals, and developing objectives. Aside from the classroom aspect, I loved that I was also immersed in the culture and had a great time. This experience is one that I will never forget!

I had an amazing personal and professional experience with Therapy Abroad's Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) Program. I was surrounded by positive and passionate mentors and given a leadership role to help, with a team of fellow peers, to create a week and a half long camp providing no technology resources, giving children, adolescents, and young adults with complex communication needs a voice. We orchestrated a fun camp with many stations (science, drama) while assisting and teaching target students how to communicate using a no technology system. Models and support were provided for data collection and report writing, which was a reasonable load.

Living quarters were comfortable: bunk beds in an adorable cabin with a toilet inside, and then outdoor shower facilities. I had so much fun on the excursions (snorkeling, zip lining) and the program really made things easy, providing all meals, transportation, and stopping at shops when supplies were needed. The trip went well above and beyond all of my expectations. As a graduate student, I felt challenged and grew in my AAC knowledge base as well as cultural competency. My only real challenge was dealing with some mosquitoes! Invest in Deet, not natural mosquito deterrents like coconut oil, and you'll be set! I would definitely recommend this program to any student interested in speech therapy.

I honestly was not sure what I was getting myself into, I know my friend was applying and she did her research, but I just kind of followed lead for the experience of learning over seas. It was probably one of the best experiences I could ever have. I will say I was beyond nervous going to Belize by myself and leading a camp definitely brought out my lack of confidence in my own skills, but with my fellow goers and the support of the clinician supervisors, I say it really improved my own confidence in my knowledge and skills as I continue to work on becoming an SLP and the knowledge that working with these kids is why I fell in love with Speech Therapy. Aside form the fun, having more hands on experience enhanced my learning more than a classroom setting could provide. It really helped to with starting graduate school applications to learn about different programs across the state and creating a network for our future careers.

This was the best thing I did in grad school. I learned SO MUCH and I left Belize with an insane amount of confidence in my clinical abilities and my report writing. The supervising SLPs were incredibly supportive and I never felt like I didn’t have anyone to help me. I loved the tourist activities we did and I definitely made some lifelong friends. I loved helping out in the community and trying new things. I had never worked with children who had syndromes and I was able to do language/artic/feeding evaluations on children with all kinds including Macroglossia, cerebral palsy, ASD and a few other children with cleft palate. Everyone I have talked to since then I have told them they need to do this program. It helped me grow so much as a clinician and was a huge eye opener to how other parts of the world live.

This experience is an excellent way for SLP students to gain experience in the field before entering graduate school. It is challenging and motivating to plan a two-week camp for children with disabilities that is both appropriate for their cognitive abilities and engaging. Students learn about the paperwork and documentation progress as well which is essential for graduate school. The professionals on the trip have different therapy styles and strategies that help the students learn what works and doesn’t work for their personal therapy style. This program created lifelong friends and connections within the program. The girls in my group still talk all the time, and I was able to connect with Kristofer Brock, an SLP on the trip, at ASHA! I highly recommend this program to learn about SLP in an area where there aren’t a lot of services, and gain essential skills for graduate school. Belize is a beautiful country, and a great place for people who haven’t traveled a lot to learn about life outside of the United States. We have a lot of fun on this trip zipling and cavetubing and visiting the Mayan Ruins!

Therapy Abroad was my first chance to volunteer and learn more about Speech Language Pathology in Belize. The staff went above and beyond in terms of preparation. I was very comforted The constant communication and aid made my travels much easier — especially because I was travelling from Vancouver, Canada. Observing the SLPs and leading a communication camp has allowed me to gain real-world experience that I will forever cherish!

My favourite experience was when we observed the SLPs and children during the home visits. It was an eye-opening and humbling experience to be allowed into the children's home and allowed to observe various communication and swallowing disorders.

The cherry on top was the chance to experience Belize through various activities such as snorkelling, ziplining, cave tubing, and more.

For more information about my amazing experience with Therapy Abroad, please take a look at this blog post: https://www.thetravelingtraveler.com/therapy-abroad-program/