Partnering with #1 Ranked UW-Madison Speech-Language Pathology Program

#1 Ranked UW-Madison Speech-Language Pathology Program

Here in Madison, we are so lucky to have amazing academic institutions to partner with. UW-Madison Speech-Language Pathology Program was just ranked #1 by US News and World Report. UW-Madison has a Speech and Hearing Clinic, which serves to help train Speech Pathology and Audiology students at the university. We started a partnership with the clinic in 2017, just a year after we opened our doors – and we haven’t looked back!

Currently, Liz Delsandro helps supervise students in their first and second year in the program. Liz is a clinical associate professor and speech-language pathologist in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She has supervised graduate students at GiGi’s Playhouse for the past three years and brings clinical experience from the Waisman Center, including the Down Syndrome Clinic and the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic, as well as the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Neurobehavioral Unit and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Team. In addition, Liz worked for 10 years in public schools, supporting children with diverse communication needs.

Liz shared “I am so privileged to learn from and serve individuals with Down syndrome and their families at GiGi’s Playhouse.  It is wonderful to be part of such a collaborative, creative and effective team at GiGi’s! I truly love the mission and energy of GiGi’s Playhouse!

This year, we have had the opportunity to work with 6 first year students and 1 second year student providing Speech Therapy to 12 different participants. We were lucky to have 3 returning volunteers as our SLP student clinicians!

Norman, first year student

Norman started volunteering with our Fantastic Friends program summer of 2023. Knowing he wanted to become a Speech-Lauguage Pathologist, he added on Literacy Tutoring in spring of 2025. He has also helped us out at a variety of family fun events and our 5K – Dash for Down Syndrome throughout the years. Norman shared that he started volunteering with GiGi’s because he “wanted more experience with individuals with Down syndrome and finds volunteering rewarding.” What he didn’t know yet was that his “Best of All” moment would be all of the relationships he has made. “Getting to know my new friends and their families has been really incredible.”

Norman wanted to be a clinician at GiGi’s ever since he started volunteering. Being back at GiGi’s meant that he could continue these relationships during a time that school does not allow him the availability to volunteer. He’s also looking forward to learning how he can better advocate for this amazing community.

Emily, first year student

Emily started as a Program Leader with our TeenTastic program during her undergraduate years in summer of 2024. Her goal was “was to gain meaningful experience with the populations I aspired to serve in my future career as a speech-language pathologist and of course, have fun!” Emily shared that she grew both personally and professionally from this experience, gaining valuable for supporting and uplifting our teens while also helping them engage in highly functional activities. She quickly recognized how GiGi’s is a welcoming space for all while being a home away from home for our families.

Emily shared that she was ectatic to learn that she had been placed here at GiGi’s. She shared that she hoped “to continue refining my clinical skills, broaden my understanding of down syndrome, experience many more “Best of All” moments, and ultimately make a positive impact on the participants and their families!”

Rachel, second year student

Rachel is our second year clinician here at GiGi’s this session. She was lucky enough to be a first year clinician here last spring. This brings incredible insight and knowledge for our first year clinicians this session. Rachel was initially excited to be placed at GiGi’s after providing one on one care for a girl with Down syndrome. She was motivated to learn more and start working professionally with this population.

After celebrating so many “Best of All” moments, Rachel was excited to come back to support our first year clinicians. Some of her most memorable moments include “music and dance breaks between activities, witnessing a toddler begin to use ASL to communicate, and connecting with a child using pretend play and using dinosaurs to work on speech sounds!”

Thank you to all of our student clinicians over the years. We have logged over 5,300 participation hours and over 6,000 volunteer hours from our student clinicians. Way to go team!

Applications for our summer session are open April 27th – May 18th. The session will run Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 23rd – July 23rd. You must be available at the same time on both Tuesday and Thursday for a total of 10 sessions.