TEAMworks in Guatemala

The Journey Ahead

As are TEAM of therapist prepared to take off from the runway in Northwest Arkansas, Kym Hannah, Children’s TEAM CEO and President of the TEAMworks board shared, “I’m reflecting on what it truly means to serve. Not just in the day-to-day ways we show up for each other and our families-but in the bigger, bold ways that stretch us, ask something of us, and sometimes take us for from home.”

“Today, we’re sending off four incredibly brave and generous women—Paige Funkhouser, MS, CCC-SLP, CALT, Abby Austin, MS, MF-SLP, Kelly Yates, MS, OTR/L, and Sherrie Flory, PT, DPT—as they travel to Guatemala to serve individuals and families who don’t have access to the care and equipment they need. They’re not just packing bags; they’re packing purpose. With every step, they are extending TEAM’s heart to communities eager for healing, support, and encouragement.”

“Their journey reminds us of why we do what we do. At the core of this mission is love. Love that shows up, love that reaches out, and love that gives—whether through therapy sessions here at home, or medical equipment hand-delivered to someone across the globe.”

Learning Spot and TEAMworks in Guatemala

Physical therapy with child in Guatemala

speech therapist enjoys bubbles with a child on a mission outreach to Guatemala

Day 1 Field Notes: On the Ground in Guatemala

We arrived!!! Thank you for all your prayers! We definitely felt them, as we had smooth travels to Guatemala! All of our luggage made it, no damage, and the airport attendees in Guatemala were so kind in helping us gather our wheelchairs and walkers. We were picked up in a giant passenger van by Anita L, who is a complete rockstar. We then headed to The Learning Spot where Diana, the owner, had a delicious lunch prepared. During lunch we were told about the kids we would meet later that afternoon and we briefly prepared before they arrived. We spent a majority of our sessions getting to know these children and building rapport, as we will be working with them all next week. We are heading into the community today to see some families who can not make it into the city for specialized services. Prayers that we have what is needed and for safe travels are appreciated! Thank you all for so much support from home, it means the world to us!

Day 2 Field Notes: Rural Community Outreach

Today we met up with a local pastor and went to a rural community to see some children who are not able to get to the city for medical and therapeutic care. We were able to see eleven kids with various needs and provide equipment, shoes, give oral motor tools and training, and work on play and language development.

Then, we packed up and headed to the home of a young boy in a remote part of the village where Sherrie was able to chat about pre-walking steps and Abby helped with oral motor exercises for improved eating and talking.

It’s always so much fun being able to head into communities where therapy is difficult to access and seeing what even just the little time we spend has an impact on the children and their families. We are always so humbled by their gratitude.

Day 3 Field Notes: Returning to the City

Sunday we returned to the city from Antigua, but not before a trip to our old stomping grounds! It was fun for Paige and Kelly to walk around the square and show Abby and Sherrie some of the places we went on earlier trips! We passed by Hermano Pedro ( a hospital and church for those with disabilities) , took a few pictures in front of the some of our favorite local landmarks, and grabbed the best banana bread from a local panaderia before piling back in the car to return to Anita’s and getting ready for the week ahead at the Learning Spot.

Day 4 Field Notes: Wheelchair Delivery offer Child his First Visit to the Park, Low Tech AAC Communication Progress

The first official full day at the Learning Spot was so full and so fun! Some major highlights were Paige and Abby being able to set up PECs systems for some of the children to improve their communication skills. The children rocked it and they are excited to see them progress through the week! Sherrie has a couple new buddies, but none more special than a little boy with achondroplasia. They played forever with Mr. Potato head while completing some pretty difficult mobility and strengthening tasks. Kelly spent the day working on helping build strategies for improving attention to task and emotional regulation and providing education on differentiating between sensory and behavior to determine appropriate treatment strategies. We ended the night at Anita’s with her famous chicken chili and a good night’s sleep!

Occupational therapist enjoying play with child

Special Prayers for the Day Ahead

We are off for Day 5 and would love the following prayers:

1. We brought a wheelchair for a young man at the Learning Spot and when told of this, his dad told Diana that he would finally be able to take him to the park. He is twelve and has never been to the park. Obviously, this sentiment made us all a bit teary. Sherrie will need to make some adjustments to make it fit his body and the level of contractures he has in his legs. Please pray that when all is said and done, this sweet boy can go home with this chair and finally see the community with his family.

2. One of Diana’s families saw the progress their son was making with a simple, low tech communication device and was able to purchase a more high tech tablet for an AAC system. Please pray for this child as he learns a new system and that he will be able to flourish in communication over the week.

3. Sensory processing is frequently given as the main culprit for frustration and emotional dysregulation here in Guatemala. Please pray for the words to help therapists and parents working with many of these children see how these can overlap but also differ, and that novel strategies for treatment may be used to improve functional play and cooperation during therapy.

young child sitting on the lap of a PT in Guatemala

Teamworks Therapists on the square of the city

Day 5 Field Notes: A Full Day

Today was our second day at Learning Spot this week! We are seeing the same kids daily, which means we are able to build rapport and see some progress with many of the things we have been working on. Additionally, it means we can slow some things down and really chat through our treatment process with the interns and parents, for which we are grateful. It was a good day, but a long one too!

Connections with the Right Equipment

Sherrie was able to give a sweet young man with Spina Bifida a wheelchair and he looked every bit the cool driver with his shades and backward cap in his new wheels. Abby was able to find a free AAC program to load onto our friend’s new tablet and it’s looking promising that it will be a good fit! Paige has been practicing PECS with several of our friends here in Guatemala and today, one very excited boy chased her across the building to give her his picture card in order to receive his toy! He is now up to ten items on a board which, if you don’t know, is huge in such a short time! We are so glad he will have a way to communicate when we leave! Kelly has a few tricky buddies and yesterday was the first day where all the children participated with only minimal behaviors (yay!!).

therapist working with child in Guatemala

Prayer Request for Wheelchair Repairs, Energy, & Collaboration

Today we head back and have a very specific prayer request! The chair we brought to fit our older child with CP was slightly too small, so Sherrie and Kelly brought it back to the house to work on growing it the best we possibly could. There were SEVERAL stripped screws already on the chair, making adjustments very difficult. We phoned a few friends (Shoutout Caitlin Miller from NuMotion, Sherrie’s dad, John, and the Lord, who was summoned via a very spontaneous and off key song from Kelly) who were able to help problem solve many of our roadblocks and we were finally able to get the chair to the best position we possibly could. Please pray as we take the chair back that it will fit our young man! He is the same child whose dad was excited for the community mobility and we desperately want this to work out! Additional prayers for energy and collaboration are also greatly appreciated!

Day 6 Field Notes: Walking for the First Time!

The same sweet boy who got a wheelchair yesterday was able to walk today for the first time ever using a walker and his HKFOs! Big things are happening for this kid this week! He is a complete doll and cool kid all at once and we couldn’t be happier for him! Another blessing, the wheelchair Sherrie and Kelly worked on for quite some time fits significantly better! Our friend will be able to take it home today! Kelly felt right at home today as she got schooled at Uno by a sassy girl with a sweet smile who definitely gave a little victory dance in her chair when she won…TWICE! And, she was able to problem solve some strategies for behaviors in school for, likely, our feistiest child of them all!

New Communication Device

Abby was able to introduce a young man to his new communication device! He is highly motivated by farm animals and was quick to pick up using his device to label them while looking at a book. He also let Abby demonstrate how to use simple words like more and help to get the things he wants. This week, Paige has been working on increased vocalization and PECS with an adorable little girl and today, with the help of a music and dance party, she started using her voice with excitement every time she got a shot at the maracas!

Prayers for Energy in the Home Stretch

It’s our last day at the Learning Spot and we would really appreciate prayers for collaboration and carryover once we are gone. We have been intermittently shadowed by many interns and employees of the Learning Spot, but they are spread thin with so many of us there. We would appreciate prayers that they are able to soak up the pieces of our sessions that have been beneficial to their kids and feel confident to carry them over once we are gone. We ask for prayers for energy in this home stretch!

Day 7 Fieldnotes: Sending Equipment Out the Village

We did it! Thursday was our last day in the clinic at Learning Spot! We have had a lot of fun this week and worked so hard with so many children. Today, Sherrie was able to go through equipment and AFOs/shoes we left here SIX YEARS AGO to find some great orthotics for some of our kids at Learning Spot and even a pair for a sweet girl in the village. Anita will be sending them with the local pastor to deliver them after we leave and we are praying they fit. It has been humbling and rewarding to see big and small steps throughout the week.

speech therapy in Guatemala with TEAMworks volunteer therapist

Transformative Connections

HUGE, HUGE praise that all of our equipment worked out for those who needed it, especially both wheelchairs!

Paige and Abby were able to introduce so many means of communication from gestures, signs, PECs, and even an AAC device! Many of the children moved from attempting to get up from the table and/or grabbing items to using alternate means of requesting from just Monday to Thursday! Paige got to use her dyslexia training with a sweet little girl who was struggling with reading and writing in school. Her alphabet fluency and phonemic awareness were difficult and it was an enlightening experience for all of us, as regionally, Spanish sounds differ. Paige was grateful to have our translator, Kevin, there to explain the differences in the sounds we were taught in basic Spanish versus the sounds that are common in Guatemala.

child laughing with speech therapist on Guatemala mission

Parent Education

Kelly has been seeing improved behavior and attention throughout the week by working one on one with each child; however, the highlight of today was educating a set of parents on very basic behavior strategies that will benefit their daughter. They were so engaged and asked many great questions. We are praying these strategies work in the therapy, home, and school settings! Additionally, Kelly was able to educate a Learning Spot intern on how to help a child learn to spell their name. This young girl is super smart and caught on so quickly, it was fun to see!

We are heading home today and get back into Northwest Arkansas tonight! Prayers for safe and easy travels are appreciated!

TEAMworks Therapists in Belize

by TEAMworks Team | Feb 6, 2025 | News, TEAMworks

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