AAC in the Wild: Speech and Language Camp
For children ages 6 to 11
The Northern Illinois University (NIU) Speech-Language Pathology Program is excited to offer a Summer Speech and Language Camp for children who use (or can benefit from using) Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) devices aged 6-11 years old. This four-week camp is supervised by a licensed Speech Language Pathologist and conducted by a team of graduate students enrolled in the NIU Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Program.
Participants in the AAC in the Wild Camp will be immersed in aided language stimulation (modeling on their device or a partner’s device) throughout the entire 2-hour session through a variety of exciting activities. Aided language stimulation is an evidence-based practice which allows AAC users to learn to use vocabulary for various communicative purposes. Each session will be themed around a “wild” location including: the ocean, forest, swamp, jungle, arctic and desert. Campers will participate in a daily base camp meeting, literacy activity, art project, sensory experience, movement time, musical exploration, and a snack (families will be asked to provide their child’s snack for each camp session). They will also compose a letter from camp each day to communicate about their camp day.
Each camper will be assigned a 1:1 graduate student clinician that will stay with their camper the entire session, providing aided language stimulation, creating communication opportunities, and ensuring all camp activities are accessible for their camper. Intake assessments will take place prior to camp starting to ensure that each camper’s needs are accommodated.
Deadline to register and pay is Friday May 24, 2024.
| Dates | June 4-25, 2024 |
| Days |
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons The session on June 25 will include the family to join the children from 2:00-3:00PM |
| Time | 1 to 3 p.m. |
| Cost | $210.00 for seven camp sessions |
| Enrollment | 6 children |
| Location and Registration | Northern Illinois University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic 3100 Sycamore Road DeKalb, IL 60115 815-753-1481 |
| Questions | Kim Wedoff, M.S., CCC-SLP Director of Clinic Operations 815-753-6161 kwedoff@niu.edu |
