Cate Crowley took this year’s students traveling to Bolivia to a new school for the deaf, Centro Effeta Inclusión. The school is directed by Paula Pao Pastor, who was previously director at Camino, another school for the deaf in La Paz. This year’s TC grad students were there just in time for Día de los Madres (Mother’s Day) in Bolivia. TC students provided speech and language therapy in Spanish alongside other teachers and professionals working at the center. Since Centro Effeta is a school for the deaf, much of the therapy occurs in individual or group sessions performing hearing evaluations, fitting and adjusting hearing aids and aural habilitation for students with hearing aids to acquire spoken language. However, students were also able to push into classrooms and support learning and access to the curriculum in that setting as well. Melissa Innis was there as the audiologist to supervise fitting and cleaning of hearing aids for children at Effeta. Check out the pictures below to get a better idea of the student clinicians’ experiences!
Category: International Projects
Terapia para Paladar Hendido: Evaluación en Tratamientos (Playlist)
Objectivo: Estos videos tienen el objectivo de enseñar estrategias y tecnicas para mejorar el habla de gente con paladar hendido/ fisura palatina. Read More
Vocational Training in Ghana- AAC Strategies
AAC Ghana Pamphlet- Sample
This is a sample page from the AAC Ghana Pamphlet.
Ghana January 2014: A day of mutual sharing and learning: Cleft Palate Clinic at Komfo Anoyke
We began our final day at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. As we walked inside, we were greeted by children and adults of all ages who had come to see the talented Kumasi Cleft Palate Team for pre- and post-surgical consultation. The faces of tiny babies as young as two- months stared back at us from colorful cocoons on their mothers’ backs as we smiled and stroked their beautiful faces. Once in the clinic, we assessed the speech and language of children with repaired and non-repaired cleft lips and/or palates and provided recommendations. However, the highlight of the morning was the time we spent demonstrating safe feeding techniques to mothers of babies with non-repaired cleft palates.
Ghana January 2014: Learning and exploring with colleagues and students in Effiduase
Today we spent the morning at Effiduase School, a unit school in which Belinda works. TC has been working with Belinda, a teacher of students with disabilities, for the past 7 years. Her class was comprised of 45 students ranging from age 3 to 22, all with a range of disabilities. We were all beaming as we walked into Belinda’s classroom. All of the supplies that TC has donated over the years were seen throughout the classroom and were being utilized! The opportunity that we were given to co-teach with Belinda was an invigorating experience–the students remained engaged throughout the lessons, and were excited to learn. We were all in awe of Belinda’s expertise as a teacher.
We also went to the local market with the students. There, they showed us how they use their AAC market cards to buy goods. It was amazing to see the market women recognize and engage with the students in an extremely friendly manner.
After we left Effiduase, we added to our cultural experience by watching traditional kente cloth weaving, natural ink extraction, and wood carving. We also stumbled a upon a traditional Muslim funeral which we couldn’t pass up. Funerals in Ghana tend to be a large celebration open to the public, and an all day event! We were warmly welcomed and included, and we were even asked to dance a traditional Ashanti dance in front of the everyone there.
Later in the evening, Belinda came and spoke to our class about the challenges she has faced while pursuing a career in special education in Ghana, and the process of starting a unit school in this community. Belinda’s dedication to her students and to the field of special education has improved the the lives of many despite the prevalent cultural taboos that still exist in Ghana.
Thanks to Katie Mosher for the post.
Ghana January 2014: Lessons in Kumasi: Komfo Anokye Hospital
We awoke bright and early this morning to our beautiful new digs in Kumasi. After breakfast, we boarded the bus to start our day at Komfo Anoyke hospital. It was a busy morning of introductions, and more assessments similar to those at Korle Bu. We saw kids with hearing loss, cerebral palsy, Waardenburg syndrome, and stuttering. For most of us, it was our first exposure to Waardenburg syndrome, which served as a particularly interesting case to assess and analyze.
Once our work at the hospital was complete, we grabbed a quick lunch to fuel ourselves for more market shopping. In the very back of the market was a painter who had no functional use of his arms and had to use his mouth to paint. He demonstrated his talent to us as we flipped through and purchased his pieces. Needless to say, they were all unbelievably stunning. However, that wasn’t the only craft shop that stood out to most of us. There was a father and son who owned a woodworking shop with gorgeous handcrafted pieces. They even went so far as to carve it in front of you to make sure it’s exactly what you want.
The night ended with a class discussion about the work we are doing and suggestions for next years trips.
Thanks to Jenn Stanis for the post.
Ghana January 2014: Facilitating educational opportunity in a new way
Today we went back to Larabanga to see Faruk and his family. We were excited to tell them that we had raised enough money to finance Cynthia’s schooling for the next year so she could go back to her old school in Damango. This school is much better than the one in her village and would give her a better chance at getting into a government high school. We brought Cynthia to Damango with us where we were able to speak with the headmaster of her school and inquire about her returning. The headmaster gave his consent for her to start classes again so we happily began helping Cynthia buy supplies and material for a new uniform so she would be ready. Since Cynthia would not be able to travel from her village to the school every day, we helped set up room and board with a family member who lives in Damango. We also visited the Catholic Church where some of the women played traditional music for us and Cynthia was reunited with her school friends. It was incredibly emotional and we are hopeful she will keep in touch by using her new cell phone. We have much hope for Cynthia, Faruk and their mother for many reasons now.
After Larabanga, it was back on the bus for another “African massage” and many, many hours traveling south to Kumasi where we will be working for the next three days. To pass the long hours, we laid down some tracks for the TC beats. Get excited to hear them at home!
Thanks to Galadriel Sevener for the post.
