Communication Sciences & Disorders Program with Spanish Language Immersion

The ‘22 Dominican Republic Therapy Abroad trip was an unforgettable experience. Coordinators Alejandro and Bridget were extremely accommodating and proactive to ensure safety, comfort and ease into the country. They were a wonderfully diligent team that provided a positive educational experience for students. Their commitment to their work and mentorship as well as their dedication to getting to know each student created an opportunity for student development and educational growth. Their guidance and support was truly unparalleled and incomparable to that of other professionals in the field. Bridget provided an essential sense of security and support in a new environment while Alejandro ensured structure and ease into the expectations of the program. Karla, liaison between our team and the kids, conducted efficient work prioritizing the needs of the kids as well as providing us feedback onto how best to work with each child. She was a huge resource when talking/translating to parents, working with other teachers and providing us the materials we needed to conduct therapy at our fullest. Angel and Bright served as our global travel liaisons as we navigated the island. They invited us to take a step into their culture through unforgettable travel excursions, language/cultural education, and support navigating and learning about the children. These individuals and their commitment towards creating a unique learning travel experience defined the positive impact of my trip. Would ABSOLUTELY recommend.

This was truly an amazing experience! The best part was definitely the people we met! You will build life long relationships with people in your field, and that is priceless. It was truly the bridge connecting the context we learned in school and what we will be doing everyday in our profession, plus a lot of other exciting activities like surfing, boat rides, hiking, cave exploring and many other things. We obtained plenty of hands-on experience that reassured me that this is where I want to be at. Everyone was so supportive, I learned more there in two weeks than what i learned for a whole year in school. I definitely feel like now I have an advantage over people who didn't get to have this experience.

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.

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.

On this trip, during a pandemic so some things may be different once that is done, we were able to work with children and explore the DR! So fun! My Spanish exposure amazing!! The trip is a bit pricey but the people you meet and the experience has the potential to be worth it if you make it. I really enjoyed growing in my academics and as a person. I would suggest this trip for all level of Spanish speakers. Definitely pushed me to go outside my comfort zone. I really love all the people I met on the this trip and can’t wait to see where they end up in the field!

Therapy Abroad's Dominican Republic program was a well-structured, safe, fun, and unique way to help children, develop clinical skills, and broaden appreciation for other cultures and populations. There was good balance between work and play, with multiple excursions to local hot spots. The support was phenomenal, in terms of both academic and clinical goals from the SLPs, to general safety and well-being. The summer camp truly challenged us as participants, but I think we all came away with a significantly greater understanding of how to structure speech-related activities for kids. Accommodations and food were good. We stayed at a hotel that was walking distance from the summer camp (2 of us per room). The hotel offered a lovely breakfast spread every morning, and it was a comfortable place to unwind at the end of each day. Lunch and dinner was always plentiful and delicious, featuring a variety of local restaurants (mostly classic Dominican food, but also some twists on familiar dishes, like pizza).