Augusta University 'Baby Lab' Provides Hands-On Training for Therapy Students

The new program allows occupational, physical, and speech therapy students to observe and interact with infants to develop critical skills.

Published on Feb. 9, 2026

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Augusta University has opened a new 'baby lab' where infants help train the next generation of occupational, physical, and speech therapists. The program allows students from these three different therapy programs to work together and assess various aspects of infant development, including fine motor skills, gross motor skills, communication, and feeding. The hands-on experience provides practical training that students cannot get from textbooks alone.

Why it matters

The 'baby lab' program gives therapy students valuable real-world experience working with infants, which is crucial for developing the skills needed in their future careers. It also benefits participating families by helping them track their children's developmental progress.

The details

The 'baby lab' program at Augusta University launched this month and is grant-funded. It allows three large classes of students to participate once per semester, with each session lasting about 20 minutes. The occupational therapy students focus on the babies' fine motor skills and play skills, the physical therapy students observe gross motor skills, and the speech language students assess communication and feeding skills. For students like Chesnee Freeman, an occupational therapy major, the hands-on experience in the lab will be invaluable as they prepare to enter their field work.

  • The 'baby lab' program launched this month at Augusta University.
  • Each session in the lab lasts about 20 minutes, and three large classes of students participate once per semester.

The players

Mallory Rosche

Associate professor of occupational therapy at Augusta University.

Chesnee Freeman

An occupational therapy major at Augusta University.

Yuli and Luis Rodriguez

Parents of baby Alessandro, who participated in the 'baby lab' program.

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What they’re saying

“I know it's definitely going to help out when I go into my field work getting to draw on real life experience other than what I learned in books and lectures.”

— Chesnee Freeman, Occupational therapy major (WRDW)

“I think it was giving us an opportunity to kind of figure out where he is out in his milestones and just figuring where he is at compared to other babies and making sure he is on course to meet everything.”

— Yuli and Luis Rodriguez, Parents of baby Alessandro (WRDW)

The takeaway

The 'baby lab' program at Augusta University is an innovative approach to providing hands-on training for the next generation of occupational, physical, and speech therapists. By allowing students to observe and interact with infants, the program helps them develop critical skills that will be essential in their future careers, while also benefiting participating families by tracking their children's developmental progress.