When Rory came home from a speech camp run by Western’s H.A. Leeper Speech and Hearing Clinic, he told his mom he “felt the love” while he was there. He talked about the new sounds he practiced and the friend he made.
Eight-year-old Rory has complex medical challenges and struggles with speech and language.
At the unique summer camps in Elborn College, Western speech-language pathology (SLP) and occupational therapy (OT) students provide one-on-one and small group therapy to kids four to 10 years old.
“We’re really thankful for them. They’re so good at what they do; the knowledge they have is so specific,” Rory’s mom Amy said. (Western News agreed not to publish Amy and Rory’s last name to protect his privacy).
Thanks to the work of Western students, the camps strike the perfect balance, Amy said.
“Not only are they providing fun, they’re also equipping these kids with tools and doing very specific teaching so these kids have a voice – plus confidence to use their voice.”
The week-long camps help children who have challenges with speech, language or literacy.
Rory, who’s going into Grade 3, has benefitted immensely from several years of camp at the Faculty of Health Sciences’ H.A. Leeper Speech and Hearing Clinic, especially since he’s been on a waitlist for school-provided supports since he started kindergarten.
“There’s such a need in the community, just to help those kids get further along in their speech and language goals,” said Kim Spylo, a speech-language pathologist and the clinic manager. “It also helps our students get clinical hours.”
Teaching and learning
As a strong proponent of education, Amy appreciates the reciprocal learning her son helps make possible.
“The students teach him but they’re also being taught through him. There’s always the supervisor, so I can rest knowing there is that depth of experiential knowledge,” she said of registered SLP and OT leaders overseeing the students.
“Working with students, you see their growth over the time they’re with Rory. They get better at targeting exactly what needs to be addressed,” Amy added.
Rory and other campers work with Western students in speech-language pathology and occupational therapy at summer camps run by the H.A. Leeper Speech and Hearing Clinic. (Kim McCready/Faculty of Health Sciences)
Western SLPs and SLP students also provide early identification, prevention and treatment to preschoolers through the province’s tykeTALK. Rory has received support in that program since he was a youngster, so his family is very familiar with the services offered at Western.
Second-year SLP student Rawha Patel said the summer camps have been helpful to translate knowledge from her studies into practiced skills.
“It’s a lot more exposure and getting more comfortable in the clinic environment. I feel much more confident now,” she said. “It’s a really good learning opportunity.”
Camps target multiple speech and language needs
The summer programs run for four weeks, tailored to children and families with different needs:
- Two weeks of camp are dedicated to motor speech, or kids who have difficulties with clarity or articulation when talking.
- One week is focused on both speech and language challenges. Those campers may run into problems with vocabulary, grammar or comprehension in addition to speech barriers.
- The final week is dedicated to reading and writing skills.
All camps are structured similarly, with one-on-one support as well as partnered and group work between campers – anything from reading books to doing crafts – plus social time and outdoor activities. This summer was the first year the camps offered hearing screenings and included occupational therapy students.
“Working with the OT students has been really great; we’re getting to see each other’s professions a lot more. In the real world, we often will share the same clients,” Patel said.
Fun games and traditional camp staples become moments to tackle therapy goals. Crafts offer fine motor skills practice, followed by an opportunity to talk through their creations in front of the group. OT students can assess and assist during “dramatic free play” with the kids, like pretend kitchen or pretend ice cream-making scenes.
It also helps campers connect with one another.
“It facilitates conversation – that is such a challenge for some of these children, just having conversations with each other,” Patel said.
“They might feel a little bit insecure about that speech element of socializing, thinking ‘some of my peers might not understand me.’ But they know this is a safe space, and everyone is here practicing their speech sounds.” – Rawha Patel, second-year speech-language pathology student
Campers encourage and support each other, too, said Spylo.
“One little boy would say to his friend, ‘Oh, that wasn’t a really good snake sound, you need to do it like this.’ He would model the word. That was so great for them both to realize everyone is working on improving.”
Donation reduces camp costs
This year’s camp was subsidized by a donation from the Ontario Barbershoppers’ Harmonize for Speech fund. The cost is still higher than some other camps, but for Amy, the payoff is well worth it.
“For the amount of intensive work he does throughout that week, it’s really not a question (of whether to enroll).”
She was touched to find out the price was reduced this year.
“It was really nice, when we went to pay for it, to find out that someone had donated to cover costs. The staff have this way of reaching out to share kindness that I didn’t even know I needed,” Amy said.
She only wishes more families could access the specialized services of speech-language pathologists.
“If you’re learning speech in an atypical way, you need someone that really knows their stuff. It’s great to have people who are knowledgeable and really care,” Amy said.
“They’re doing everything they can to try to cover these kids that really need help. It’s been incredible working with them.”
