Graduate Health Sciences Adventure in the Caribbean

The week that I spent in Therapy Abroad’s Graduate program is an experience that I would not take back. It allowed me to create great connections with students and SLPs, receive eclectic speech therapy experience unlike anything I have done before, and to explore a new place! You will not be disappointed by the accommodations at Monkey Bay. The staff there are some of the sweetest people that are willing to help you in any way. My speech therapy experience allowed me to better understand school systems in developing countries. It also made me realize the need of speech and language pathology services in developing countries like Belize. Then, in your down time you are able to explore the country (even the islands!) If you are thinking about it, go!!!!

Be ready to have a lot of fun and learn a lot about how to work in a multi-cultural setting! Bring multiple changes of clothes, lots of bug spray and a love for learning about new cultures! Don't be afraid to dive in and talk to every one you meet as you will meet some truly amazing people both from America and Belize. Studying with those from different backgrounds and schooling allowed me to learn about many different schools of thought that exist in this field and I learned so much! I am very grateful that I went on this trip and was able to have so much hands on experience. I hope to both stay in touch with my group members as well as come back as a team leader some day! It is very exciting that therapy abroad is expanding to different countries.

I came with a custom NYU group. Therapy Abroad worked with us to create dates that matched our school schedule. Once there, the supervisors were excellent! The Therapy Abroad employees were wonderful to work with, and I hope to return on another Therapy Abroad trip in the future. I absolutely loved my experience working with the children. I felt that I gained a lot of important clinical skills, and I strengthed my report writing skills as well. I enjoyed my time on the trip. The hotel acommodations were great. I enjoyed the excursions, and I would highly recommend this trip to others! We went snorkeling, we ate local food, we went out dancing one night, and we went swimming. The Therapy Abroad staff is very responsive to questions, concerns, and suggestions. I do intend to work with them again in the future, whether as a student, team leader, or supervisor at some point. I loved traveling with this organization!

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.

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.

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.