Dr. Laura Palmer, Chair of Professional Psychology and Family Therapy Department, and a group of Counseling Psychology Ph.D. students recently returned from a trip to Trinidad and Tobago where they ran a two-week long camp for over 55 children and adults who are presented with a broad range of developmental and acquired disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy, down's syndrome, traumatic brain injury and a variety of genetic disorders. The camp began in 2005 and has run annually. Some of the campers have been with us all 5 years; they are pros at this point and really help to orient the new campers and team from the US or from “foreign” as we're considered in Trinidad.
The cohort “from foreign” included Dr. Palmer, 8 Counseling Psychology Ph.D. students, 4 Occupational Therapy students, a post doctoral fellow from Boston Children's Hospital, Dr. Moreno, Director of the Regional Diagnostic Center at Newark Beth Israel Hospital and a colleague from Employment Horizons. The camp staff includes the US team and a cohort of local teachers, volunteers, and counselors.
Throughout this service learning project, our clinical team provides therapeutic programming, neuropsychological and occupational therapy assessments, parent consultation and professional development for the staff and local professionals. At the same time, we learn from our local colleagues, the campers and their families invaluable knowledge about educational practices, cultural and individual responses to individuals with disabilities and lessons in resiliency. It is an immersion experience across many profound aspects of culture and diversity that is in the truest sense of the word - AWESOME!!
This initiative is organized annually and is very eagerly anticipated by the children each summer.
For more information please contact: Laura Palmer, Ph.D. (973) 761-9449 palmerla@shu.edu
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