Enriching Camp Program Overview
Creative Kids Therapy offers enriching, specialized day camps designed for campers with autism and other special needs. Our program is meticulously structured to provide a supportive and engaging environment that focuses on three core developmental areas: communication, social skills, and literacy development.
The camp services are designed to meet the definition of eligibility for scholarship programs by providing specialized, therapeutic intervention delivered by qualified professionals in a structured, small-group setting. The integration of therapeutic goals into a fun, camp-style curriculum ensures both developmental progress and high engagement, directly supporting the educational and therapeutic needs of the campers.
Camp Service Description
Our camp curriculum is organized around weekly themes that integrate therapeutic objectives into engaging, multi-sensory activities. The program model utilizes evidence-based strategies, including Social Stories, visual supports, and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS).
I. Communication Development
The communication coursework focuses on both expressive and receptive language skills necessary for functional communication and social interaction.
| Coursework Component | Description | Therapeutic Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Functional Language Skills | Activities focusing on requesting, commenting, protesting, and turn-taking in conversation. | Increase spontaneous, functional language use across settings. |
| Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) | Training and practice for campers who use AAC devices or communication boards. | Enhance effective and efficient communication using their primary mode. |
| Pragmatics/Social Communication | Structured role-playing and group discussions targeting topics like maintaining a topic, initiating conversation, and understanding non-verbal cues. | Improve reciprocal conversation and adherence to social rules. |
II. Social Skills Group
Our social skills component is a highly structured group environment designed to teach, practice, and generalize appropriate social behaviors and emotional regulation strategies.
| Coursework Component | Description | Therapeutic Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional Regulation | Use of visual scales (e.g., Zones of Regulation) and coping strategies to identify and manage emotions. | Increase self-regulation and decrease challenging behaviors. |
| Cooperative Play Skills | Structured games and activities that require collaboration, sharing, and problem-solving. | Develop ability to engage in successful, sustained interactions with peers. |
| Perspective-Taking | Use of video modeling and social-cognitive activities to understand others’ thoughts and feelings. | Enhance empathy and improve response to others’ social signals. |
III. Literacy Development
The literacy coursework integrates techniques to address the complex skills required for reading and writing.
| Coursework Component | Description | Therapeutic Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Phonological Awareness | Multisensory activities (e.g., rhyming, segmenting, blending sounds) tailored to individual reading levels. | Build foundational skills necessary for decoding and reading comprehension. |
| Fine Motor/Pre-Writing Skills | Occupational Therapist-led activities focusing on grasp, hand strength, and visual-motor integration for writing readiness. | Improve legibility and endurance for academic tasks. |
| Shared Reading & Comprehension | Group reading of adapted texts with explicit instruction on story elements and inferencing. | Increase understanding of narrative structure and critical thinking skills. |
Program Structure and Details
- Staffing: All camp groups maintain a low camper-to-staff ratio
- Individualized Goals: Upon enrollment, each camper’s existing therapy goals and/or IEP goals are reviewed. The camp staff develops 2-3 individualized camp objectives that are targeted throughout the week. Progress is tracked daily.
- Parent Communication: Daily reports outlining the activities and a summary of the camper’s performance related to their goals will be provided to parents.
Eligibility Documentation
The services rendered directly address the criteria for scholarship eligibility by providing specialized, intensive, and goal-directed services to children with special needs.
- Specialized Focus: The camp targets documented deficits in communication, social interaction, and academic readiness, which are core areas of need for individuals with autism and related disabilities.
- Professional Delivery: Services are supervised and executed by licensed and credentialed clinicians (SLPs and OTs), ensuring the delivery of high-quality therapeutic services.
- Structured Environment: The program is designed to provide a “therapeutic environment” necessary for the generalization of skills, a common requirement for therapeutic support programs.
- Measurable Outcomes: Individualized goals and daily progress tracking provide objective data to demonstrate the therapeutic benefit of the services.
We believe that enrollment in the Creative Kids Therapy camp will provide the necessary therapeutic support to promote significant developmental gains for your child.