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Speech Pathology Group: Children's Services International (SPG: CSI) is dedicated to improving the quality of life for
children with speech and language disorders around the world. Speech and language therapy is often nonexistent for many
children who need it most. SPG:CSI is committed to putting the people and services in place to ensure long-term, sustainable solutions by:
 Empowering caregivers and professionals with evidence-based assessment and treatment education.
Providing charitable assistance for therapy services in low-income communities.
Increasing the scope and practice of speech and language services in developing nations.
We believe in the concept of "teaching the teachers."
Often in developing nations, children who have severe communication delays, are nonverbal, or who have a diagnosis such as autism may not ever have the chance to receive the help they need. In Bosnia, it is typical that children will not receive speech therapy "until they learn to talk."
We know that without help, some of these children may never learn to talk, will never have a chance to go to school with their peers, and many eventually end up institutionalized, or worse. It is our hope that soon children in Bosnia can be served by trained professionals able to handle even the most extreme cases.
Working with the University of Tuzla in the summer of 2012, SPG: CSI will provide continued training to parents and professionals of three existing programs throughout Bosnia which currently treat communication impaired children with autism.
1) In 2009, SPG: CSI opened the first classroom for 3-5 year olds with autism in the country, which continues to serve as a training center for professionals and as a model for future autism classrooms throughout Bosnia. There are now two classes operating from the same location in Sarajevo, and more students sign-up every month. The staff, families and children of this center are in need of more advanced training in areas such as communication, academics, self-help, and social skills. SPG: CSI will provide hands-on teaching to Special Education Teachers, Speech-Language Pathologists, and university students in 2012.
2) In 2010, SPG: CSI co-hosted a ten-day seminar for parents and professionals, providing them with current diagnosis and treatment techniques for children with ASD. The seminar was held in Tuzla, which is located in Northern Bosnia. After that training, several professionals decided to open a center in a neighboring town that would allow them to serve children with autism. In 2012, SPG: CSI will bring a team of U.S. experts to this center to demonstrate and implement evidence-based treatment techniques with children ages 2-years to 7-years old.
3) After graduating from the University of Tuzla as a Speech-Language Pathologist, one student went back to his hometown of Zenica, Bosnia. There he discovered many children with autism who were not receiving any treatment, or who had been hidden in their homes. He decided to serve these children using the skills he had learned in the SPG: CSI summer seminars in 2009-2010. In the last two years, the Zenica program has expanded to serve more than 17 children in the community and surrounding rural areas as part of a home-based intervention and family treatment program. What began with one professional who wanted to help, has now expanded to seven specialists who have come together to form a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) designed to help all children with communication impairments in central Bosnia. In the summer of 2012, SPG: CSI will provide materials and advanced diagnostic and treatment training to the staff and families of this newly organized NGO.
SPG: CSI is responsible for bringing EVERY item needed for training, including all diagnostic materials and classroom items, as well as organizing the team of U.S. professionals who will go to Bosnia for 10 days to provide the hands-on training. There are no paid employees, only specialized volunteers giving their talents and time.
Please click here for a list of education-related materials needed for the Bosnia 2012 Project.
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