Day 6

 Day 1 of Tykes Camp 

Today was the first day of Tykes Camp! Around 9:00am, the TAMUK CSDO 2nd year graduate students arrived at Albizu University, where the services for the camp will continue to be provided for the following days. As soon as they arrived the TAMUK CSDO students were greeted by the Albizu University students and the staff with a very warm welcome. The students had the amazing opportunity to work together to provide services for the kids in the camp. It was a great learning opportunity for both students to emerge in two cultures and come together to provide the best services they could for the patients. The day started with exercises led by the Albizu University and CSDO students, this allowed everyone to engage and interact a bit more through singing and dancing. The kids and students both had an awesome time engaging in this activity! It gave everyone a boost of energy and was an amazing way to start off the morning. After, the students and patients were able to enjoy a delicious meal/breakfast pastries before starting their daily activities.

Soon after, every student went to their designated stations where they could provide services. Every station targeted a different area of language. 

Station #1 targets Speech Sound Disorders

Station #2 targets Semantics

Station #3 targets Morphology 

Station #4 targets Syntax 

Station #5 targets Literacy 

Station #6 targets Auditory Comprehension 

Station #7 targets Pragmatics

 

On the first day, half of the students administered hearing screenings on the kids and the other half administered different language screenings. Through these screenings, the students were to assess and observe different areas and behaviors from the children. The screenings were also administered in Spanish which was a new and great learning experience for TAMUK CSDO students. Once the screenings were administered, the clinicians were able to target the goals specific to the stations they were in. A lot of fun activities were administered, such as Twister, HedBandz, Tapple and others. Through these games, the students were able to target their goals while catering to the child’s interests and needs. Every child was seen for fifteen minutes in every station and then rotated to the next one until time was up. At the end of the day, the TAMUK CSDO students closed day one with a game of musical chairs where everyone participated. It was very rewarding to see all the kids and the students having fun! Nothing compares to seeing the smile on the kids' faces. Soon after, the students and kids had a tasty traditional Puerto Rican meal that was provided by Albizu University. To close off Day 1, the students had a short meeting and debriefing in which they shared the strengths and weaknesses that they encountered. Day 1 of Tykes Camp was a success and we are more than excited for what’s to come in Day 2!

- Nallely Villegas