Communication and speech-related challenges vary from camper to camper at Lee Mar. Some campers may have limited verbal communication, other campers may love to talk, but have difficulty holding a conversation, staying on the conversation topic, or have difficulty understanding body language and facial expressions when talking with others.
Camp Lee Mar has a full speech and language program to help our campers develop these skills! We follow each camper’s I.E.P. to improve verbal, nonverbal, and social communication skills during our intensive 7-week summer program. Our overall goal being to help our campers communicate to the best of their ability and as functionally as possible with those around them, all while having a great time.
Our speech therapy program produces such great results because not only do our campers receive “classroom” speech sessions, but our speech specialists also see the campers across a range of naturalized settings in the camp environment.
You will find our speech specialists sitting with the campers at mealtimes, working on social skills throughout the meal.
You will find our speech specialists in the pool or at baseball working on listening skills and following directions. This is also the best setting to explore teamwork.
You will find our speech specialists in the art rooms working on receptive language skills while creating and amazing art project.
Our campers may have attended speech therapy programs or speech therapy camps in past summers – Camp Lee Mar is where we begin to link all these great skills together with our play and learn approach.
Our speech program focuses on key areas of communication and social skills such as:
- Matching emotions with the correct facial expression
- Understanding body language
- Responding to questions
- Receptive language skills
- Expressive language skills and emotional regulation
- Conversational turn taking
- Topic maintenance
- Matching a picture with its meaning
- Modulating tone of voice
- Self-advocacy
- Self-Regulation & Coping Skills
- Self Esteem
- Understanding non-verbal cues
If you feel your child would benefit from working on these skills while having a unique summer experience, please feel free to reach out to us!
Written by Lynsey Trohoske
My name is Lynsey Trohoske, I am the assistant director at Camp Lee Mar. I have three amazing children, my middle child happens to be on the autism spectrum and is a camper at Lee Mar. I joined camp as a counselor in 1998 and loved the campers and their families so much that Camp Lee Mar became my second home!
