CHAMP Camp

 

The Childhood Apraxia and Motor Planning™ Camp, known as CHAMP Camp, has provided intensive speech therapy to children since 2012. Hosted by the GW Speech and Hearing Center, the two-week camp brings children and their parents to individual and group therapy sessions with engaging activities.

Graduate students participate in the program as clinicians, helping run daily individual and group therapy sessions. All student clinicians are supervised by a certified/licensed speech-language pathologist. Each participant works with a clinician to ensure continuity of care and one-on-one support throughout the camp.

Each candidate must submit an application to ensure that the camp is a good fit for your family.

Application Requirements

Children ages 6–9 and their parents are invited to apply. In order to make the camp a cohesive and effective experience, campers are selected based on age, severity of apraxia/speech sound disorder, presence and severity of concomitant disorders and behavior supports required during CHAMP. 

1. A referral form obtained from the GW Speech and Hearing Center.
2. A short (three to five minutes) video of the child in a recent speech-therapy session in which therapy techniques and cues are implemented. Alternatively, parents may record a video of their child. The video should portray the child’s current communicative abilities by engaging them in conversation and using open-ended questions (e.g., “Tell me about your favorite movie”).
3. A copy of the child’s most recent speech therapy evaluation.
4. Any other information that may assist clinicians in reviewing the application.

Send all application materials via email to Jodi Kumar.

Check back soon for information about summer 2020.

Individualized Approach

A trademark of CHAMP is the highly individualized nature of the therapy experience. One treatment approach does not meet the needs of every child. Based on pre-camp information gathering and an initial assessment, a treatment protocol is developed to address your child’s speech and language needs. For one camper this may mean incorporating a hybrid approach of Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing with Core Vocabulary to target speech and language. For a child who is working on residual speech sounds errors, a more traditional approach may be incorporated. 

Regardless of the approach, therapy will incorporate the Principles of Motor Learning, and the CHAMP team will factor in the learning style of your child to identify an appropriate cueing and support hierarchy (i.e., tactile, visual or temporal cues). Goals focus on functional communication in the context of play or academic based activities, and incorporate language and social skills as needed.

Typical Daily Schedule

8:50 a.m.                          Arrive at Clinic
9–9:15 a.m.                      Morning Group
9:15–10 a.m.                    Individual Therapy
10–10:45 a.m.                  Group Therapy (3-4 children)
10:45–11:30 a.m.             Individual Therapy
11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.     Group Therapy
12:15–12:30 p.m.             Parent Training Session  

Is My Child Ready for CHAMP?

• Yes! My child can attend therapy for about 50 minutes multiple times per day with engaging activities.
• Yes! My child can easily separate from their parents.
• Yes! My child has a diagnosis of speech sound disorder, childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) or suspected CAS.
• Yes! My child is verbal and has some consonants and vowels in their repertoire.
• Yes! My child does not have behavioral concerns that would alter the focus of the intensive from speech/language to managing and identifying behavioral supports.