Six School of Communication Science and Disorders (SCSD) graduate students visited Materno Infantil Jose Domingo De Obaldia, a Panamanian hospital for children with rare diseases, as part of their Project Team Enhanced Outcomes (TEO) experiential learning component. These students worked directly with children who receive specialized care, allowing them to use their skills in a new cultural environment and gain valuable experience in collaborative service delivery.

These graduate students, Hadley Borg, Isabella Diaz, Nina Garcia, Sarah Garven, Alabanza Loera-Gracia, and Jordan Rauch, also traveled to Panama alongside their FSU Clinical Supervisors, post-doctoral researcher Michelle Torres-Chavarro and SCSD School Director Carla Wood, who oversaw these students’ work.

“We wanted them to see firsthand the importance of person-centered, culturally responsive care and interdisciplinary collaboration when working with children with complex needs from backgrounds that differ from their own,” Torres-Chavarro said.

Project TEO prepares graduate scholars to assist children with disabilities and connects students with opportunities to learn service strategies firsthand. This group of graduate students worked with Artes Expressivos, a not-for-profit organization, to coordinate their visit to Materno Infantil Jose Domingo De Obaldia.

During their time at the hospital, the graduate students led numerous activities designed to encourage social communication, language learning, and positive community experiences. Some of these activities included building and painting birdhouses, decorating bird ornaments, and other arts and crafts while utilizing language models and visual support, enhancing the children’s vocabulary and supporting them linguistically.

“We hoped the students would grow in their awareness of ways to adapt intervention strategies to meet the unique needs of each child and family they serve,” Wood said.