A group of children who share a common trait were brought together this week at the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus for Camp Dream. Speak. Live.
Dr. Evan Usler, an assistant professor in the College of Health Sciences’ Communication Sciences & Disorders program, said the annual camp is for children with a stutter, and helps them become effective communicators.
“There’s magic shows, there’s scavenger hunts, there’s activities, we have a DJ, so the kids have a lot of fun,” said Usler, “but underneath the surface is a pretty intensive program of therapy for these kids.”
“So underneath all the fun stuff they do they’re building their skills at talking, speaking, communicating, so they learn things like how do they use their voice, how do they focus their eye contact, how do they ask questions, how do they say what they want to say when they want to say it. For many of these kids they might be the only kid they know with this issue,” he said.
“What this camp does is bring these kids together and they learn from each other and they learn they’re not the only ones. They have very similar thoughts, feelings, fears about ‘how can I talk in the world, how can I make friends?'” he added. “What we focus on is not, not stuttering. What we focus on, despite the stutter, are you able to transmit the message you want to transmit regardless of any interruptions.”
10-year old Santino Messina of New Castle said he had a lot of fun and learned a lot as well.
“It’s basically like being with your next door neighbors,” said Messina. “Everybody knows each other, we come, learn, have a good time, interact, and I think for some kids it’s not as alarming to be around other people who also stutter.”
Counselors for the camp are graduate students in the University’s Speech Language Pathology program and Usler said the real-world experience in working with kids who stutter is invaluable.
For Usler, who also has a stutter, the camp hits home.
“I always begin the camp by saying ‘this is the camp I wish they had back in the 1980s,'” he said.
The Camp Dream. Speak. Live. concept was founded a decade ago at the University of Texas in Austin.
Read Full Article | Mike Phillips | Published Aug 2, 2024 at 12:45 pm | WDEL.com
