Month: January 2020

The graduate clinicians continue to amaze me everyday with their energy, flexibility, and curiosity. It’s difficult to put into words how much this trip has meant to all of us but below are a few thoughts to capture it:

“To have been able to be a part of this independent study in Querétaro, México has been a true gift. I have learned so much about myself and about the field of speech and language therapy in Mexico. I feel that I have created invaluable relationships through my interactions with professionals, clients and people in the community. To be embraced in the Mexican culture is to feel completely accepted. It has been an entirely welcoming environment for honing my clinical and Spanish language skills.”
-Datie

“These three weeks have been life-changing for me personally. As a clinician, I plan on working with families and children who speak Spanish as a bilingual speech language pathologist, and learning the terminology in our Spanish classes has allowed me to acquire the language needed to provide services for these families. I now feel more prepared to work with this population and look forward to putting everything I’ve learned into practice. It has been my dream for a long time to work with this population and going abroad to Mexico, providing services at Gigi’s Playhouse and Andale, has made this dream come true. Although I am a native Spanish speaker, I learned a lot more than I expected by actually working with these children, their families, teachers, and Mexican speech language pathologists. I am forever grateful and will definitely be coming back to Mexico in the future after this trip!
-Genesis

So far, being in Mexico has shaped my professional and clinical skills in a way that is indescribable. I always wanted to explore the world of speech-language pathology in other countries, and this trip has allowed for me to make that vision more concrete. Not only am I returning as a clinician with increased skills in two languages, but also as a clinician who will be actively thinking about how to make an impact on communities within my country of residence and abroad.”
-Jessica

“This experience and the value it has brought to my clinical and academic training in indescribable. There is something so special and valuable in forming genuine bonds with people who value the same human right to communication and connection that you do. It is also something beyond words, when you are in a new environment, using a different language and feel this sense of home, and welcome. Mexico is a magical place made so by its incredible people. Everything I have been able to learn here I will carry and use with me for my entire career.”
-Sara

On Sunday, we took a day trip to the beautiful city of Guanajuato, which is about 2 hours away from Querétaro. The city of Guanajuato seemed magical, with all of it’s colorful buildings in different sizes, as well as its alleyways and tunnels, which make you feel like you’re entering another world. There is also a “Callejón del Beso” (Alley of the Kiss), its name came from the fact that the balconies are so close, couples could reach out and kiss. This city was romantic and captivating, it’s really no wonder that it inspired the pixar staff from the movie “Coco”! 

Statue of El Pípila

Next, we went to the Museum of Mummies/Museo de las Momias which is a museum that is dedicated to showcasing mummies that are naturally occuring due to a unique combination of elements that prevented decay (http://www.momiasdeguanajuato.gob.mx/). When people died in Guanajuato, they were placed in wooden caskets and then moved into a cement vault. Families needed to pay taxes on their loved ones to stay in the cemetery and after 5 years of not paying, the government can take the body out. Due to a combination of certain elements in the local water, the wooden casket absorbing all humidity and the lack of oxygen in the concrete vault, the bodies that were exhumed remained perfectly preserved. Some even had preserved hair, teeth and clothes.

Pictures of the “Momias”

We then went to a restaurant located in a beautiful old house that also included an art museum. At the end of the day we drove back down into town and walked around the Mercado Hidalgo which is a large market with crafts, clothes, and food.

On Monday, Datie Rogers and Genesis Felizola conducted parent interviews in Spanish at Andale Para Oir about the usage of their child’s cochlear implant/hearing device using the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS). MAIS is a parent report scale which evaluates a child’s skills in meaningful, real-world situations. They asked the parents to rate their child’s utilization and management of their cochlear implant, asking questions such as “What is your routine for putting on your child’s device each day?” and “Have you ever checked your child’s device and found it was not working (or headpiece had fallen off), but s/he had not noticed or had not told you?” on a scale from 0-4 (0= Never, 1= Rarely, 2= Occasionally, 3= Frequently, 4= Always). They also wrote down any additional parent observations, concerns, or report. This was an enriching experience as it allowed them to learn more about how the child is performing at home, and the unique experience of managing their cochlear implant/hearing device.

For this Wednesday, we were asked to lead the activities in Andale. We plan to follow the schedule they already have implemented, and add some activities ourselves as well. First, we’ll start with morning greetings, including a hello song and organizing the visual schedule for the day together. During physical education (educación física), we’ll play musical chairs and have the children listen for when the music stops to sit down. After physical education, we’ll read a book together for Story or Sequence time (Cuento o Secuencia). Genesis, Datie, Sara, and Jessica will each act out parts of the story as we read a book about children traveling through a forest (bosque) and swish swashing through high fields of grass, glip glopping through puddles of water and mud, and encountering a bear and it’s cave. Finally for Arts and Crafts (Artes Plasticas), we will have the kids draw themselves and practice the parts of the body together (head/cabeza, shoulders/ombros, arms/brazos, legs/piernas, etc). The kids will also color in parts of their body using the four primary colors red, yellow, blue, and green, and together we’ll practice the Mexican sign language for each color.     
 

This week at Gigi’s we had the pleasure to continue to work with our wonderful Language therapist who have shown and taught us so much about how to effectively work on a wide variety of goals with their clients. For example, at Gigi’s playhouse, we have had the great pleasure of being able to see our language therapists incorporating so many areas of development in an individualized and age-appropriate approach. The therapists think about each of their client’s individual needs, incorporate personalized materials that target functional language, movement, pre-literacy skills, models and feedback. It is incredible to be able to get specific feedback on how to teach, model and adapt language and articulation goals in Spanish. It has been a unique learning experience for all of us since each interaction we have had in Spanish allows us to analyze our own metalinguistic knowledge.

It has given us a deep appreciation for the importance of effective and rich language models for children. We have seen how collaboration, an openness to learn and seeking out information from Native speakers who are working as speech therapists is absolutely vital when working with children and their families in Spanish. Gigi’s Playhouse has such a warm and inviting atmosphere, and we have felt so welcomed since the first day we entered. We love walking in the hallways, sharing stories, coming down for coffee in the kitchen and seeing the clients and their families smiles. We are grateful for the incredible experience at Gigi’s Playhouse and we have been blessed to know all the people who are behind the amazing work they do.

On Monday, we held a debate in Spanish class in which we used the professional terminology we learned about hearing loss and deafness to make our arguments for/against having deaf/hard of hearing children use only oral language to communicate, or only sign language to communicate. This assignment was meant for us to practice our abilities to speak in spanish about the pros and cons of only using one or the other, using the terms we learned. We also discussed the benefits of including both, as well as using cued speech (palabra complementada), gestures (gestos), visual cues (pistas visuales), over articulating (sobrearticular), and lip reading (lectura de labios) as examples of some strategies parents can use with their children at home.    

We’re making the most of our last week here in Mexico by experiencing more of the culture and history, taking the lead in our sites with supervision and following the schedule/plan already provided, and using the language we’ve learned so far in our Spanish classes every day. We will truly miss the wonderful people we’ve met here during these three weeks. These three weeks have been a life-changing experience for all of us. As clinicians, we plan on working with families and children who speak Spanish as bilingual speech language pathologists, and learning the terminology in our Spanish classes has allowed us to acquire the language needed to provide services for these families. We now feel more prepared to work with this population and look forward to putting everything we’ve learned into practice when we get back. Coming to Mexico, providing services at Gigi’s Playhouse and Ándale Para Oir has been a dream come true for us. Although some of us are native Spanish speakers, and all of us are fluent in Spanish, we learned a lot more than we expected by actually working with these children, their families, teachers, and Mexican speech language pathologists. We are forever grateful for this trip, and will remember the people, as well as experiences, for the rest of our lives. Below are some photos of us with some of the amazing people we’ve met. 

– Sara and Genesis

Although this was our second week at our sites and in our Spanish class, we felt so at home; almost as if we had been here for much longer. This week we had the amazing opportunity to work with the professionals at Ándale para Oír to begin their assessments for the new year. We participated in a motor assessment in which the children had to demonstrate various skills such as hopping on one foot, somersaults, jumping and running. Many of the assessments are comprised of criterion referenced checklists or questionnaires for skills that are present, emerging or not present. Even though this was a motor assessment, we were able to informally evaluate language skills while giving directions to the kids.

In addition, during our time at Ándale para Oír, the master teacher in our initial education class (educación inicial) explained the importance of adopting a whole child approach to education of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Not only do the children attend individualized aural rehabilitation therapy sessions, but during their time in the initial education class, or preschool, they are exposed to stories, sensory experiences, math concepts, language and physical movement.

The teacher also promotes certain themes across weeks and finds many creative and engaging ways to incorporate and teach themes to the students. For instance, this week she introduced a book in which a family is hunting for a bear and encounters many obstacles. Later this week, she had the children act out the story with items representing the obstacles from the book. Little toys represented the characters and they had to travel through mud (represented by pudding), water (represented by a bucket of water), and a tall field (represented with pipe cleaners.) We have been able to participate in all of the activities and have been providing support with the very specific needs of each child so they can access the richness the class. It has been a wonderful experience to share the joy of the classroom with the children and the amazing team at Ándale para Oír.

At Gigi’s Playhouse, we are continuing to provide individual therapy and are collaborating with other therapists. We have had the opportunity to learn about Gigi’s fundraising efforts as they are a non-profit organization. Individuals and groups who make donations can be assured that the funds go to programs such as cooking classes, individual and group therapy, and social events for families. Included here is the website for Gigi’s Playhouse Mexico. It’s very inspiring to learn more about the families who attend both Gigi’s and Andale’s for services. Some travel several hours one way by bus each day.

Welcome to GiGi’s Playhouse Mexico

While staying in Querétaro , we have had the pleasure to enjoy many cultural activities in the city and in the surrounding areas. This past week we took afternoon trips to visit the town of San Miguel de Allende and to Bernal. Located in Bernal is a large monolith known as “La peña de Bernal,” which is ranked as the third largest monolith in the world. Many of these towns are known as pueblos mágicos (“magical towns”). The secretary of tourism of Mexico has recognized these towns as places of cultural significance and they are valued for their maintenance and restoration of historical sites.

In our Spanish language class this week, we have continued to be challenged and be exposed to a wide variety of terminology, grammatical structures, phrases, and clinically relevant discourse exercises. We have have been learning to adjust our own language depending on our goal for communication and for our audience. For example, our teachers set up a practice case history interview with student volunteers who had prepared a mock child language case. We then practiced conducting a case history using parent-friendly language. We also completed a therapy plan for a hypothetical client in many different areas. This class provided us the opportunity to learn and apply many new technical terms such as “base y techo” for basal and ceiling of a standardized assessment. Our last class consisted of learning connector phrases to use when writing clinical reports. We went back to our therapy plans and wrote a report using these connector phrases. We all felt that this exercise was valuable for creating professional clinical reports.

At the end of this week, one of our site supervisors was generous enough to take us on a walking tour of the center of the city. She took us to a colonial-era house called “La casa de la Zacatecana.” In Querétaro there are many legends (“leyendas”) that came from this era. The legends are entertaining but they help visitors connect to the city’s rich colonial history. “La casa de la Zacatecana” had many beautiful antiques, pieces of art and incredible views of the city.

http://www.museolazacatecana.com

We look forward to our last week in this beautiful city. Our first two weeks here have been life-changing and we all feel that Querétaro is our second home. Tomorrow we plan to visit Guanajuato, which is another pueblo mágico.

Saludos,

Sara y Datie <3

This weekend we explored more of México’s rich history and culture.

Templo Mayor

Our first stop was Templo Mayor, a sacred place that embodies the empire of the Mexica people (Aztecs). This temple was historically built for the people to engage in their religious rites, such as observing priests’ performances, praying and make offering to their gods. Going through the remains and reading about the many etapas (or levels) to the templo, which were built by the 7 different Mexica leader during each of their reigns, provided us with a great learning experience. We learned about all the challenges that the Mexica people faced during Spanish invasion. One important takeaway from Templo Mayor was the knowledge that although the Mexica people essentially “disappeared” as time passed, there is another group of indigenous people, the Nahuatl, who have survived in present day Mexico. This has contributed to the preservation of some indigenous culture and its influence on Mexican society.

Diego Rivera Museum

Following our visit to Templo Mayor, we visited the Anahuacalli museum, where we were able to see Diego Rivera’s vast collection of Pre-Hispanic sculptures and his personal artwork. In addition to the sculptures, there was an area that Diego had designated as the place where he hoped that his and Frida’s ashes would be placed so they could rest together. Moving up through the different floors, we were also able to see Diego’s sketches and artwork, including the very famous “Man at the Crossroads” sketch, which had been painted at the Rockefeller Center (and then later destroyed). Throughout our experience, Diego’s artistry and eye for detail were definitely noticed. Throughout the exhibits, there were themes of indigenous beliefs, such as the incorporation of the four elements (water, fire, earth, air), and images of gods such as serpents and rabbits. Visiting this remarkable museum allowed us to see how Rivera’s art has been preserved even after an earthquake that ruined the building which contained it.

Basilica

Visiting The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe was a humbling experience for our group. We observed how Catholic faith is a monumental influence to Mexico and its people. While entering the church, we noticed one prominent figure: La Virgen de Guadalupe (The Virgin of Guadalupe). This church was built in her honor, and she can be seen from any point within the building.  

Teotihuacan

The Teotihuacan or “City of Gods” was yet another one of the divine sites we visited on our journey through Mexico City. It is nicknamed the “City of Gods” because the Aztecs believed that the gods created the universe at that site. Some of us had the wonderful opportunity of climbing both El Sol (The Sun) and La Luna (The Moon) pyramids. It was truly an experience of a lifetime, and it’s important to understand how Mexican culture so unique in its ability to preserve its culture.

Our second week at Andale and Gigi’s has begun!

We continue to work with many children, and have been taken aback by how much rapport we have been able to build in only one week. From the affectionate Mexican custom of giving hugs as greeting, to hearing our names being said in verbal approximations, the perseverance and the love that these children have demonstrated has definitely validated and motivated us in our pursuit of becoming Speech-Language Pathologists. We wish we could post more about our experiences at these sites but out of respect for the client’s privacy we cannot.

We also have been exposed to conducting parent interviews, using specific language when evaluating and developing treatment protocols in our Spanish class. This exposure has already started to carry over, as we are using more specific language in our interactions with the children, parents, and other professionals at our clinical sites. We are learning terminology that we had never thought about as fluent Spanish speakers. These language classes and clinical experiences are truly invaluable.

With admiration for this beautiful city,

Genesis and Jessica

This week, we began taking our Spanish language course at the Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro. All four of us were eager to begin, ready to soak up everything we could about Mexican Spanish and professional terminology to use with the families at Gigi’s playhouse and Ándale Para Oir. On Monday and Wednesday, we were very surprised to find that there are many phrases and words used not just in Mexico, but throughout central and south America that we did not know. Though the five of us speak Spanish fluently and several of us are native speakers, there are many ways in which the language differs across regions. For example, to say “boy” in Mexico you might say, “niño or chamaco”, but in Argentina you might say, “pibe or chabón”. We found this to be important to know because we will work with families and clients from different Spanish speaking countries in our careers as bilingual speech language pathologists. At the end of class on Wednesday, our teachers (Vanessa and Liz) gave us a pre-assessment to test our ability to explain terms and concepts related to communication disorders in Spanish (e.g., diagnosis, recommendations, stimuli and prompts that we would use in therapy).

On Wednesday and Thursday we began our work with Ándale Para Oír, Para Padres de Niños Sordos. On these days we had the privilege of joining a preschool class of students ages 3 to almost 5 who have either cochlear implants or hearing aids. We had the chance to observe the daily “horario” (schedule), filled with activities such as crossing out days on the calendar, talking about the weather, music and playing instruments, and physical activities. We were able to serve in a role of a “maestra sombra,” meaning a shadow teacher and each one of us was able to work one on one with a student. What really surprised us after our first day was how different each student was in their temperament and in their communicative needs. In a class of four or five, we had one or two students who had no auditory access either because of profound hearing loss or because they had recently lost their cochlear implant.

We found that for some children, using Mexican Sign Language (Lengua de Señas Mexicana) was really needed while other children did well with verbal models. The lead teacher helped us to learn some important signs for the classroom such as “thank you,” “help,” “sit down,” “give me,” and “attention.”

Each child in the preschool class at Ándale para Oír has their own companion doll (un muñeco) that stays with them throughout the day. As can be seen in the picture above, each doll is drawn on the board and is counted for attendance each day along with the children. We found that it could be very motivating for a child to participate if their doll was also participating in an activity. Some of the dolls even wear a cochlear implant which struck us as powerful as these children are learning to accept their hearing loss as part of their identity.

We look forward to developing some materials for the teachers at Ándale Para Oír to send home with families that focus on visual and auditory stimulation, concepts (e.g. colors, shapes, animals) and literacy skills.

Hasta luego,

Datie y Genesis

With the goal of increasing our linguistic and cultural competencies in speech-language pathology in a Spanish speaking country, 4 graduate students from the Speech Language Pathology program at the George Washington University (GW),  traveled to the beautiful city of Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, México. This trip will provide the graduate students with an experience that would expose them to not only speech-language pathology practices, but to the cultural and linguistic influences that impact therapy approaches. For three weeks, all 4 students will work  alongside Mexican “terapeutas de lenguaje” (speech therapists) in two community centers with their own focus on providing a high quality of service to specific populations in Spanish. During these three weeks, we will be working at Gigi’s Playhouse in Querétaro, a community center that provides specific services to persons with Down Syndrome and their families 3 days a week. 

We’ll also be collaborating and providing services at Ándale Para Oír, Padres de Niños Sordos, a center focused on supporting children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing and their families. Dr. Cynthia Core and Professor Kari Comer established a relationship with Gigi’s Playhouse and Ándale Para Oír, Padres de Niños Sordos, in previous trips to Querétaro and are accompanying us on this trip. In addition to collaborating and working alongside the speech-therapists in the two clinics, we will be taking courses at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro taught by two exceptional Spanish linguists and teachers who have curated course material to increase our knowledge of useful clinical terminology in Spanish, as well as dialectal differences related to our profession. The importance of the knowledge and experience that we will obtain during these three weeks will directly impact the quality of service we will be able to provide to the clients and families in the United States as more families reflect a growing linguistic and cultural diversity. 

Sunday Jan 12, 2020

Our first day in Querétaro! We spent this time exploring the city . We visited El Centro de Querétaro, known as “el centro historico” (historic city). To learn more about the rich history of Querétaro, we went on a trolley tour that took us through the city, where the tour guide explained the rich history of how Querétaro came to be, their history with Spain, and how this history still influences their culture. 

Something that struck us was the origin of Querétaro’s architecture. Our tour guide explained how you can identify areas where Chichimecas (the indigenous population of Querétaro) lived  and where the Spaniards lived. Chichimecas built curved streets based on the rainflow of Querétaro, which prevented damage from flooding. Spaniards, however, built their streets in straight lines and failed to adapt the local terrain and climate, often finding their homes flooded. As the tour guide explained, perhaps if the Spaniards had learned from the Chichimecas, they would have learned that the curved streets were more beneficial. As we prepare for our experience collaborating and providing therapy, we want to make sure we learn from the speech therapists in Queretaro, allowing for them to lead. They know their clients and their community the best. Our goal is to work alongside the speech therapists, sharing knowledge and ideas, valuing their specific approaches that have been designed for this community and their specific needs.

On Monday we met with our two Spanish language teachers who created an engaging and thoughtful course that will introduce us to important dialectal differences that will directly impact our ability to provide quality and appropriate services to spanish speaking families in the United States. The four of us bring unique Spanish language profiles, experiences and language variations.

Our first course was an introduction to phrases, words and expressions that are commonly used in this region that our teachers knew would be helpful for us to use here as well as in our treatment. For homework, we were assigned videos from Colombia, Spain and Argentina to expand our knowledge of colloquial influences on the Spanish language.