RSF-EARTHSPEAK is a non-profit foundation whose mandate is to work with communities in developing countries to increase services for people with cleft palate. Dr. Elizabeth Kay-Raining Bird (School of Human Communication Disorders) and Cindy Dobbelsteyn (Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Centres) have been working through EARTHSPEAK with local partners in Portoviejo, Ecuador for 6 years. The local partners include the Department of Special Education, the Department of Health, the Rotary Club, Rostros Felices, the University of San Gregorio, Instituto Nacional de la Ninez y Familia, and the Fundacion Maria Claudia. Together, these partners provide surgical, speech and language, dental, orthodontal, psychology and ENT/hearing supports to individuals who have cleft palate and their families throughout Manabi Province. Elizabeth and Cindy travel to Ecuador at least once per year. As often as possible, speech-language pathology students from the School of Human Communication Disorders accompany them as part of their clinical externship experiences. This year three students participated in the April mission: Allison Kavanagh, Emily Hastings, and Matthew Cochrane. They were involved in teacher and speech therapist training experiences, a parent training program, assessments of children with cleft palate, and organizational meetings. The students had the opportunity to observe several speech-language pathologists in their work in Ecuador and observe several cleft palate surgeries. The group had the unique opportunity this year to visit the Fundacion el Triangulo while in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. This program provides experiences in the arts to people with Down syndrome.
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