Special Ed Teachers Learn About Speech Language Disorders

A three-day language disorder workshop wrapped up today in Belize City. The training which aimed to evaluate the communication disorder among diverse populations targeted thirty-nine special education teaches and rehabilitation officers from across the country. The Pan American Health Organisation sponsored the event and it was organized by the Inspiration Center in collaboration with the American Speech Language Hearing Association. On Tuesday we stopped in at the training to find out just what the participants were learning about and why. 

Joycelyn Lopez

Joycelyn Lopez, Executive Director, Inspiration Center

“Training is one of our major goals and objectives in our strategic plan. We were looking for people who could come into our country and help us train our teachers and train our rehab personnel who have to work with persons living with diverse abilities. This is how the whole idea of the training came about.”

Lena Caesar, Speech Language Pathologist

“I am first describing for them the scope of practice in speech language pathology. Given that here is only one speech language pathologist in Belize, many of the participants don’t know how to identify the presence of a speech or language disorder in children. So, I am first having them know what a speech pathology disorder looks like so that they can identify it and then leading them on as to how to assess and how to treat a disorder.  And so what I am doing with these individuals, I am giving them idea as to what happens across the spectrum but I am also giving them very functional information. So, I am giving them case histories, case studies,  so that they can practice how to implement a treatment plan and what kinds of assessments they need and we have discussions.”

Lena Caesar

Andrea Polanco

“What kind of impact have you seen in persons [having a disorder] and having someone who can communicate with them? How much difference does it make?”

Lena Caesar

“A person who is unable to communicate has lost some of his humanity – has lost part of his human right. It is amazing to see the joy, for example, in a child, both the joy in the child’s face when he is able to communicate and even greater than that the joy in the parents’ face who can do that. In terms of someone who is an adult who has lost the ability to communicate, I think that persons who have lost who had it, and then have lost it relish and enjoy that regaining even more because they knew what it was to be able to communicate. It just improves the entire quality of their lives.”