Early childhood development is a crucial area for health professionals, but many training programs emphasize older children, leaving students with limited exposure to infants under two years old before clinical placements. To address this gap, Afua Agyapong, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at Augusta University’s College of Allied Health Sciences, initiated the concept of a baby lab. This initiative aims to provide students with structured opportunities to observe and interact with infants.
Agyapong collaborated with Ryan Carrick, PhD, Mallory Rosche and Beth Willson from the Department of Occupational Therapy, as well as Dustin Cox, PhD, and Gregory Edwards, PhD, from the Department of Physical Therapy. Together they designed an interprofessional learning experience focused on early childhood observation.
Their project was recognized by the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP), which awarded Augusta University and Agyapong the 2025 Interprofessional Innovation Grant Program.
“I am incredibly proud of the SLP team’s intentional collaboration with our sister programs in OT and PT to create innovative, high-impact learning experiences that best prepare our allied health students to serve patients across the lifespan,” said SLP Program Director Joann Denemark, PhD.
Agyapong explained their approach: “We developed the project proposal, ensuring it aligned with ASAHP goals in workforce readiness, simulation and interprofessional education. We outlined the structure for families with infants ages 3-18 months that would participate in guided sessions within a simulated home-like setting. We created assessment tools, including reflective journals, observation checklists and collaboration rubrics.”
The planning process included developing a timeline for recruitment, pilot testing and implementation over three months. The baby lab allows students to apply developmental theory through direct interaction with infants and caregivers in an educational environment. It also gives them exposure to prelinguistic skills and early motor development.
“Seeing students experience those ‘lightbulb moments’ as they connect theory to practice in real time. Watching interdisciplinary teams learn from one another while engaging with infants and families and building long-term partnerships with the community that support families while preparing a stronger pediatric workforce,” said Agyapong about her expectations for the project.
Students from different disciplines will focus on specific aspects: speech-language pathology (SLP) students will study feeding and communication; occupational therapy (OT) students will look at fine motor skills; physical therapy (PT) students will observe gross motor milestones.
“It enhances the students’ ability to recognize developmental milestones and red flags earlier and builds clinical confidence in working with families and caregivers in naturalistic contexts,” Agyapong said.
Chandramohan Wakade, associate dean of Research for CAHS added: “We are pleased to receive this award from ASAHP. Dr. Agyapong has put together a simple and elegant interprofessional research proposal with SLP, OT and PT faculty and student learning outcomes. This multi-faceted wellness baby lab will address comprehensive pediatric care and provide invaluable interprofessional education to our students.”
The pilot phase aimed to establish an effective lab model by recruiting families for sessions while assessing student outcomes. The long-term plan is to integrate this program into Simulated Patients for Education, Assessment & Research (SPEAR) for sustainability while seeking external funding for expansion.
Agyapong emphasized her anticipation: “Seeing students experience those ‘lightbulb moments’ as they connect theory to practice in real time,” she said. “Watching interdisciplinary teams learn from one another while engaging with infants and families and building long-term partnerships with the community that support families while preparing a stronger pediatric workforce.”
