Camp aims to empower children, teens who stutter
UC professor brings program developed in Texas to Cincinnati
If a child stutters past the age of 7, it’s likely their stutter will persist throughout their lifetime.
Katie Winters, PhD, assistant professor in UC’s College of Allied Health Sciences
With that knowledge, a one-week, evidence-based program held at the University of Cincinnati for children and teens who stutter will teach them to communicate effectively, advocate for themselves and develop confidence about their communication abilities instead of attempting to eliminate their stutters.
“One of the goals of Camp Dream. Speak. Live. is to foster more positive attitudes about stuttering and about communication,” said Katie Winters, PhD, an assistant professor in UC’s College of Allied Health Sciences. “If a child comes to camp and they already feel positively about how they communicate, that’s awesome. There are other things they’re going to learn at camp, too. For children who come to camp who might initially have some negative feelings about communication or stuttering, our goal is to give them positive experiences where they’re communicating and they’re stuttering to shift this perspective.”
Camp Dream. Speak. Live., which began a decade ago at the University of Texas at Austin, is coming to Cincinnati for the first time July 22 to 26 and is open to children between the ages of 4 and 17. Approximately a dozen kids have signed up. This year, UT’s Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research expects to serve more than 2,000 children at camps across the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe.
“Camp Dream. Speak. Live. combats against this misguided pressure for fluency through strengthening their communication, advocacy, resilience and understanding of the uniqueness of their speech, ensuring that stuttering does not prevent any child from fully engaging in life,” said Courtney Byrd, PhD, the founding and executive director of the Blank Center.
Katie Winters, center, works at a previous Camp Dream. Speak. Live. program at the University of Texas at Austin. Winters, now an assistant professor in UC’s College of Allied Health Sciences, has brought the program for children and teens who stutter to Cincinnati. Photo/Photo/Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research
Winters, who received her doctorate from UT and studied with Byrd, spent six years working with Camp Dream. Speak. Live. in Austin. That experience made her want to bring the program to Cincinnati.
“You do see a change in children and their eagerness and willingness to talk and to share,” Winters said. “That’s one individual outcome you can see throughout the week. What’s also really powerful about camp is the growth of the group as a whole. Children who stutter are able to mentor older and younger children who stutter through their lived experience and what they’re learning at camp. At the same time, our undergraduate and graduate students who support the program are getting hands-on experience working with children who stutter and learning alongside these children.”
Along with Winters, students from UC’s College of Allied Health Sciences will help lead the evidence-based program. DJ Juan Cortez, who is a fixture at the Austin camps, will support the program in Cincinnati, beginning and ending each day with music and hosting Q&A sessions about his own experiences with stuttering.
The Blank Center CARE Model recognizes that children and adults who stutter can be effective communicators even if they stutter on every word.
Katie Winters Assistant professor in UC’s College of Allied Health Sciences
Children will get to share their experiences and support one another, too.
“The community aspect is critical,” Winters said. “Providing individual therapy for one child six hours a day for five days would not have the same impact as children participating in a group intervention where they are learning alongside one another and supporting each other.”
Approximately 3 million people in the United States stutter. From age 2 to age 6, approximately 5% to 10% of children begin to stutter. Of those kids, about 80% of them won’t stutter as adults.
While genetics play a role, there isn’t a single cause of stuttering. And people who stutter have a wide range of lived experiences.
“It’s going to be different for everybody,” Winters said. “Some people who stutter are very accepting of that as part of their identity, and it does not detract from what they want to do socially, professionally or academically. There are some people who stutter who hold negative feelings or thoughts about their stuttering and/or who also receive negative reactions about stuttering from their communication partners and listeners. Even young children, as young as 3 years old, can report they have a negative attitude about their communication where they affirm statements like ‘I don't like to talk’ or ‘talking is hard for me.’”
Camp Dream. Speak. Live., which began a decade ago at the University of Texas at Austin, is open to children between the ages of 4 and 17. This year, UT’s Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research expects to serve more than 2,000 children at camps across the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe, including in Cincinnati for the first time. Photo/Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research
Each day at the camp, Winters and her staff will model effective communication and ways to navigate situations with peers and adults. Children and teens will participate in these direct-teach activities, engage with members of the community who support the intervention and reflect on their experiences throughout the program. Activities such as a magic show and workshop support and reinforce communication goals.
“The Blank Center CARE Model recognizes that children and adults who stutter can be effective communicators even if they stutter on every word,” Winters said. “It’s in part teaching skills for children to be really effective communicators and to feel confident about their communication. But it’s also this advocacy and education piece, where the goal and outcome of the program is for children and teens to develop new skills to educate others about stuttering, advocating for themselves and for other folks who stutter.”
Featured image at top: A child speaks at Camp Dream. Speak. Live. Approximately 3 million people in the United States stutter. Photo/Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research
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