Summer camp for kids who stutter

February 19, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
Young people who stutter have a new residential summer camp, thanks to the efforts of an 11-year-old King Township boy.
Felix Skinner has wanted to start a camp in Ontario ever since he attended Camp BCAPS, a camp for kids who stutter in British Columbia, when he was 9. There are no camps similar to BCAPS in the rest of Canada.
And now, with the help of his family, he is making it happen.
“Since then, I’ve been saying: ‘mum, can we please work out what things we’re going to do for a camp,’” said Felix.
An estimated 20,000 school-aged children in Ontario stutter, but few have ever met another child who stutters. They often feel isolated and that they are the only one with the problem.
Felix is helping to change that. Last year, he gave a talk on stuttering to his sister’s Grade 5 class at Kettleby Public School, to help other people who stutter have an easier time being accepted than he did.
And this summer, the new camp, Laughter’s Voice, will become a reality.
With the support of the Mansfield Outdoor Centre, it will offer a tried and tested traditional summer camp experience, with special support for children and young people who stutter, from 6 through to 18.
Information sessions and informal teaching of speech and fluency skills through games will play a small but important role in the camp experience. These will be led by a speech therapist and speech therapy students – following the model of the British Columbia camp. The primary goal of the program, according to Felix’s mom Andrea Skinner, will be to help the campers build self-confidence and to establish a community where campers can mentor and support one another.
“Ever since we came back from BCAPS we were thinking it would be great if there were something like that in Ontario,” said Andrea. “The confidence boost he got had a ripple effect on his (and our family’s) life. After that, I saw his stuttering as just one more thing he does. So much of the worry evaporated.”
She noted even though Felix only attended BCAPS once, he went from being a boy with a problem to being a boy on a mission.
He has found that by talking openly about stuttering, most people who might otherwise be uncomfortable around him are extremely patient and accepting.
“There was a real sense of support that we want to create here. Laughter’s Voice: It makes me happy every time I say it.”
This is a residential camp, offering some independence to kids, possibly for the first time.
Laughter’s Voice seeks to eliminate the dominance of stuttering in campers’ lives because everyone at camp will have a stutter. The hope is that children who might hold themselves back from participating in social activities because of their stutter will no longer feel the need to limit their involvement in any way. Organizers look forward to the kids opening up to all opportunities for expression, taking away an enduring confidence and expanded sense of self.
Andrea has some words of encouragement for other parents.
“You are not alone! Connect with others who understand! Connect to your child in non-verbal ways (grooming a horse together, foot massage, bike riding, etc.) Hang in there and remember to savour all the unique and wonderful qualities of your child’s voice.”
The camp takes place this July 13-19.
There will be two parent information sessions – March 15 at the Richmond Hill Library and March 16 at the Eatonville Library.
To register, go directly to the Mansfield Outdoor Centre’s website: http://www.mansfieldoutdoorcentre.ca/. For more on the program, visit laughtersvoice.com.