McGill Undergraduates for Communication Disorders Awareness
About MUCDA
McGill Undergraduates for Communication Disorders Awareness (MUCDA) is an on-campus organization dedicated to raising awareness for individuals with communication disorders. Formed in January 2017, MUCDA is McGill University's first club dedicated to raising awareness for this underrepresented cause through the following initiatives:
Through our outreach to several local speech-language pathology clinics, we have created Montreal’s first mentorship program which pairs individuals with a speech and/or language disorder(s) with a McGill University student. As individuals with communication disorders are often left feeling socially isolated, the goal of the program is for University students to provide companionship, social support, and a safe space for discussion of any matter. Buddies meet with the individual’s speech-language pathologist (S-LP) or caregiver prior to beginning the program to gain insight into their Buddy's needs and therapeutic goals.
Fundraising
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One of the club's aims is to raise funds for various charitable organizations and efforts that seek to support individuals with communication disorders. At the end of each academic year, all profits acquired from events are donated to a different local organization. In previous years, the MUCDA has donated to both the “Association Quebecoise de Personnes Aphasiques”, which offers people with aphasia a place of belonging and support that promotes their development and social integration, as well as “Maimonides Geriatric Care Centre’s SLP department”, which provides the elderly with treatment for communication disorders.
Promoting the field of Speech-Language Pathology
MUCDA is targeted toward students who are passionate about raising awareness about communication disorders on campus. Many of these are individuals tend to be those who are interested in pursuing speech-language pathology as a career. For this reason, one of MUCDA’s aims is to promote the advancements in the fields, such as current research, new technologies, and advertising relevant, local events. Additionally, we are working to provide our members with shadowing opportunities with S-LPs to gain a better understanding of the profession. In the future, we will be working on how to assist our members with finding research opportunities in the field.