Camp Success 2015 Assists Children with Language and Reading Disorders
Baylor University's department of communication sciences and disorders sponsors annual free clinic
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WACO, Texas (July 15, 2015) – Since summer 2003, Baylor University's department of communications sciences and disorders (CSD) has partnered with the Waco Scottish Rite Bodies to host Camp Success, a free and dynamic four-week program designed to help children with speech, language and reading challenges.
The 72 children who attended this year's intensive language intervention received three hours of treatment each day for four weeks. The 2015 camp concluded earlier this month.
"Camp Success participants receive approximately 50 hours of one-on-one therapy — equivalent to a full year's worth of intervention in many school districts," said Michaela Ritter, Ed.D., director of Camp Success and interim chair of the CSD department, which is housed in the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences. "The children participating in Camp Success 2015 have displayed dramatic improvement in speech, language and reading."
The children came from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds and were admitted to the program based on the child's comprehensive language and literacy assessment results. Baylor's CSD department provided coursework and training to 36 graduate students who then implemented the specific research-based treatments to the children accepted into the program. The practices and treatment techniques used in this intensive language and literacy intervention have been extensively researched by CSD faculty, Ritter said.
Participation in Camp Success (or other therapy) requires contacting the Baylor Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic to schedule a diagnostic evaluation. A parent or guardian can then schedule an evaluation through the clinic to determine if Camp Success would benefit their child's needs. The comprehensive diagnostic evaluation includes both formal and informal assessments. Areas assessed include: oral language (i.e. semantics, phonology, syntax, morphology and pragmatics) as well as written language (i.e. semantics, phonology, syntax, morphology and pragmatics). Specific reading assessments address rate, accuracy, fluency and comprehension of reading. If children are determined to be candidates for Camp Success, they will then be placed on a wait list.
"We are so thankful for the Waco Scottish Rite Bodies," Ritter said. "They have made it possible for Baylor University, through Camp Success, to serve 72 children with language and reading disorders/dyslexia. The parents, children, faculty and graduate students have benefited greatly from such an enormous contribution of time and money from the Waco Scottish Rite Bodies."
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.
ABOUT THE ROBBINS COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES
After more than three years of evaluation and input from Baylor regents, deans, faculty and staff, and external entities, the Baylor Board of Regents approved the creation of the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences on May 16, 2014. This was also a direct result of identified priorities for strengthening the health sciences through Baylor's strategic vision, Pro Futuris, which serves as a compass for the University's future. The anchor academic units that form the new College –Communication Sciences and Disorders, Family and Consumer Sciences, Health, Human Performance and Recreation, and the Louise Herrington School of Nursing – share a common purpose: improving health and the quality of life. The new College is working to create curricula that will promote a team-based approach to patient care and will establish interdisciplinary research collaborations to advance solutions for improving the quality of life for individuals, families, and communities. For more information visit www.baylor.edu/chhs/.