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We made it!!

Georgia Duan 7 Comments

Hi family and friends!! 

Ghion hotel
Ghion hotel

HAAAAAPPPYYY NEW YEAR!!! This is Amika and I get to be the first to blog about our exciting day 1! We have finally arrived in Ethiopia after a 12-hour flight to Dubai (which I must personally say, was…wow, great) and a 4- hour flight to Addis Ababa. The amazing Soliana Paradise waited several hours at the airport for our delayed arrival. We ran into a few happenings (e.g., our packing tape was about to be confiscated), but nothing Dr. Crowley couldn’t fix! Unfortunately, Michael’s luggage went missing, but we are crossing our fingers that it will arrive tomorrow, especially (as Annie brought up) since he doesn’t have anyone to borrow clothes from.

A little more about our day. We arrived at our hotel around 5pm, rested, headed out to our first dinner in Ethiopia, followed by the countdown at the Sheraton Addis Ababa. Thanks to Soliana’s wonderful planning, we have had a fantastic day 1. Tomorrow, the real fun starts, where we will be going to a school to work on social stories and professional development.

I would have to conclude that though it’s only day 1, this trip so far is everything I looked forward to and is going to exceed all my fabulous expectations.

Family and friends, please stay tuned for more!

TICCA & GGEAM <3

 

Ghana January 2014: Facilitating educational opportunity in a new way

Janine Leave a comment

cynthiaToday 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.

Visit To Strivright Auditory Oral School of New York

Cate

Strivright Auditory Oral School of New York

I recently visited the Strivright Auditory Oral School of New York. The school was founded by Pnina Bravmann, CCC-SLP/A. Pnina Bravmann is an inspired and inspiring director and visionary for the auditory oral approach. What you hear in this school are the voices of children and the teachers talking, learning, singing, and listening.  Michele Bornfeld, CCC-SLP, and the teachers, SLPs, OTs, PTs, teaching assistants, music, art, and literacy teachers (yes!) implement exemplary curriculum and strategies to develop the auditory and oral skills of the lucky children who attend. The school begins with early intervention and goes through preschool. There are many integrated classes. They think about the future and have a well-established collaboration with NYCDOE. Although all I did was visit, in watching the quality of the work done there, I felt proud of my profession.

Lynda Campbell Memorial Lecture at St. Louis University in Missouri

Cate

Lynda Campbell Memorial LectureI was honored to speak at the 2013 Lynda Campbell Memorial Lecture at St. Louis, MO. My talk was “International Service that Really Serves.” It was the first time that I had done a full day on my international work. I used the videos from Ghana, Bolivia, Guatemala, and South Africa, but I also brought in the TEDtalks and other pieces that made me think deeper and continue to question myself to make sure the work is beneficial, sustainable, and capacity building.  I was so impressed by the faculty there, the past presenters, and the people who came. Special thanks to Dr. Travis Threats, Pat Miller, and Danille Deitz, for making it happen. Thanks especially to Dr. Threats who can give up his day job as Professor and Chair to become a professional photographer. He took some amazing photos.

Ghana 2013: Professional Development Retreat

Cate Leave a comment

Ghana tripWe had an incredible three-day professional development retreat in Ghana when we were there in January 2013. There were 50 special education unit school teachers of students with intellectual disabilities, 10 general education teachers, 8 dignitaries from the Division of Special Education in Ghana’s Ministry of Education, and the 27 of us in the Teachers College Columbia University speech-language pathology program. It is three minutes long. I hope you enjoy it!

2013 Lynda R. Campbell Lecture: International Service that Really Serves: Experiences in Latin American and Africa

Cate

Lynda R. CampbellThe lecture series, “Topics in Diversity,” is a tribute to Lynda R. Campbell, Ph.D., who passed away in 2001. Dr. Campbell was an associate professor and the past chair of the department of communication sciences and disorders at Saint Louis University. Campbell was nationally recognized for her publications, research in multicultural issues and dedication to her students.

I was invited to give a talk at the 2013 Lynda R. Campbell lecture in St. Louis Missouri on April 12, 2013. Here is how I described my talk:

“Dr. Cate Crowley has significant international experience in Ghana, Bolivia, and Guatemala. On most trips, she brings a team of graduate students and clinical supervisors who provide services and offer professional development in schools and hospitals, across practice areas including aural habilitation, intellectual disabilities, cleft palate, aphasia, and autism. With the goal of developing sustainable programs and building in-country capacity, Cate works throughout the year on these programs including using available technology. In this talk Cate shares proven approaches and strategies, and offers reflections on challenges and unsuccessful initiatives. She also focuses on long- and short-term benefits to her team, and to her university SLP program. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions and raise concerns related to their own interests in international work.”

I am truly honored to be invited to speak at this lecture. The prior speakers for this lecture series are the leaders in the field, and I am humbled to be part of that group.

Development of Osei-Bagyina Twi Articulation Test and Test of English Articulation

Cate

soccerThe Osei-Bagyina Twi Articulation Test (OB-TAT) and the Osei-Bagyina Test of English articulation (OB-TEA) were developed by Albert Osei-Bagyina, a speech-language pathologist who practices in Kumasi and Accra in Ghana. Then a team of master’s speech language faculty and supervisors from Teachers College Columbia University, led by Catherine Crowley and Miriam Baigorri, created the OB-TAT and OB-TEA in a form that can be used by all speech-language therapists who work with Twi speakers from Ghana and English speakers from Ghana and some other African countries. The OB-TAT and the OB-TEA are available online to download for free and use in speech therapy and evaluations.

Follow the development of Twi and English articulation tests for Ghana. Read detailed video information here.