SLPs Global Impact
The Department of Speech-Language Pathology, in the Faculty of Medicine, at U of T is a leader in advancing education, research, and innovation in global health. SLP faculty, students and alumni are having an impact globally and locally in the areas of communication, swallowing and hearing disorders.
A friend recently reminded us of SLP’s global impact.
Some highlights include:
Lynn Ellwood, Senior Lecturer, Coordinator of Clinical Education and Susan Wagner, Senior Lecturer, Coordinator of Clinical Education, Dept of SLP, maintain leadership roles related to clinical training for SLP students in a global health context, which includes not only coordinating these opportunities but also…
Susan has played a role in developing innovative interprofessional pre-departure training opportunities (with OT and nursing)
and Lynn continues to play a role in generating an education scholarship and investigating best practice in international clinical training.
Alumna, Chris Gandy provides funding support with a global outreach award which has annually supplemented opportunities for clinical training in the global health context for second year SLP students since 2007 [read more]
In a few short years, our students have travelled to Kenya, Tanzania, Trinidad, India, Bangladesh and the Czech Republic to share the skills they have learned here with established and burgeoning SLP communities abroad as part of their clinical training.
International Student Placement(s) 2012, 2013
Our students have participated in clinical placements working with aboriginal communities, on the Six Nations, in northern Ontario with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and in Iqaluit, Nunavut.
Alumnus, Jacob Wagner shared his experiences in Iqualuit in a 2010 Intercom Newsletter [read more]
Alice Eriks-Brophy, Associate Professor, Dept of SLP, was recently interviewed by U of T’s Medicine magazine about her work with Aboriginal Communities as part of the Opening the Circle feature stories.
http://medicine.utoronto.ca/magazine/article/opening-circle-ontario-edition
Alice conducts important work related to Aboriginal health – In an attempt to reduce the many barriers to S-LP services currently experienced by many Aboriginal communities, Alice Eriks-Brophy has been conducting research examining the feasibility of carrying out speech and language assessments and interventions for Aboriginal children referred for possible communication disorders living in remote areas of Northern Ontario using videoconferencing technology. [read more]
Tim Bressman, Associate Professor, Dept of SLP,works with the respected international organization “Transforming Faces”. In 2007 Dr. Tim Bressmann was invited by Transforming Faces Worldwide to travel to the city of Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu (Southern India). Transforming Faces Worldwide is a Toronto-based charitable organization that funds surgery and rehabilitation for patients with cleft lip and palate and other craniofacial syndromes. In Chennai, Tim had the opportunity to observe the cleft team at the Sri Ramachandran Medical Centre…[read more]
Penny Parnes, Adjunct Professor (status), Dept of SLP, was the founding director of the rehabilitation sciences sector International Center for Disability and Research (ICDR). Widely-respected as a global health leader in SLP and continuing to lead innovative consulting-based research on global disability, while retired as director is now heading up ICDR-Consulting
Kim Bradley, Assistant Professor (status), Dept of SLP, has a longstanding record in global health. Recently, she has carried out educational work in Bangladesh, as well as her current role as a member of the ICDR-Executive, and her innovative work with ICDR-Ethiopia to look for education opportunities related to SLP
Year 1 and Year 2 SLP students have and continue to actively participate as members of the ICDR-student group, along with colleagues from PT, OT and GDRS.
to find out more about ICDR please visit http://www.icdr.utoronto.ca
Last but not least, read the rehabilitation sector 2012 global outreach report here: Rehab Global Outreach Report