Unlike traditional camps, Camp Dynamics provides a therapeutic yet fun environment where children receive targeted intervention while engaging in exciting activities. Keep reading to learn more about this awesome opportunity to help your child to continue to improve their developmental skills over summer break.
What Is Camp Dynamics?
The idea of Camp Dynamics is to create a fun but therapeutic environment. Our camp is therapeutically focused for kids who are struggling with speech and language, auditory processing, and social skills.
Camp Dynamics runs for about ten weeks. Every summer, you can register your child for one week, two weeks, or the full ten weeks. It is run by our team of licensed speech-language pathologists (SLPs), occupational therapists (OTs), and audiologists.
During camp, we work on:
- Listening comprehension
- Phonemic awareness
- Social skills
- Peer interactions
- Arts and crafts
- Mindful movement or yoga
- Facilitating movement and more!
How Was Camp Dynamics Created?
Camp Dynamics is something that has evolved over the last decade. I created Camp Dynamics 15 years ago out of my own home. I wanted to have the opportunity to do some intensive work with children, and I wanted to help kids maintain the success that we had through the school year.
It started off very small, but it grew. Now, it has evolved into a very fine-tuned, well-oiled machine. We have student clinicians and volunteers that join us. We are paying it forward by mentoring students while also serving up to 30 kids per week.
Who Is Camp Dynamics For?
Camp Dynamics is a great opportunity for kids to get a lot of movement-based intervention. It’s ideal for children between the ages of 5 and 12 who experience difficulties with:
- Speech and language
- Auditory processing
- Social interactions
- Reading
Kids who are going to really benefit from Camp Dynamics are going to be kids who need support with peer interactions, social situations, and large groups. The ideal Camp Dynamics camper is struggling with learning. And at camp, they’re going to be supported by experts who are trained and licensed in the areas of language literacy and social pragmatics.
Because of all the movement and therapeutic focus we incorporate in camp activities, we’ve found that kids who are unsuccessful at other camps due to behavior problems or attention issues can often times be very successful at Camp Dynamics.
Are There Requirements to Participate in Camp Dynamics?
In order to apply to Camp Dynamics a child must be:
- Fully potty trained
- Able to feed themselves
- Able to participate in small group settings
Camp Dynamics is a group setting, and so it’s not set up for one-on-one support. We have about a 5:1 child-to-adult ratio. If we have a child who’s having really significant issues who requires one-on-one intervention, Camp Dynamics won’t be the best option for them, but we do have other options for them over the summer.
Benefits of an Intensive Summer Program
Camp Dynamics is meant to be intensive. It is a full-day program running from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, with intervention happening all throughout the day. If your child is in individual therapy, the decision to attend Camp Dynamics depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Some skills are better targeted in a one-on-one setting, and our intake team can help determine if Camp Dynamics is the right fit.
Every child at Camp Dynamics receives individual attention, but the primary benefit comes from the structured and purposeful environment. Every aspect of Camp Dynamics—from snacks to crafts to transitions—is designed with intention to maximize therapeutic benefits. Many campers receive one-on-one intervention during the school year. However, Camp Dynamics offers a unique opportunity to work on skills that are harder to address in an individual session, such as:
- Peer interactions and social skills
- Problem-solving and transition skills
- Group participation in a structured setting
Compared to traditional therapy, Camp Dynamics provides a much higher level of intervention. A typical therapy session may be 30 minutes twice a week, while camp offers about 30 hours of therapuetic opportunities per week. This intensive approach helps children make significant progress in a short time period, making summer the perfect time for focused skill development.
The Ideal Camp Schedule
Summer is our opportunity to be really intentional with our intervention. The best results come from attending multiple weeks of Camp Dynamics. But if you can’t come for all 10 weeks, should you just not come at all? Absolutely not. I would say you absolutely should come, and that is going to be beneficial. Here’s how it breaks down:
- Best: Attending all 10 weeks for full immersion and maximum progress.
- Better: Attending more than one week to build on cumulative skills.
- Good: Attending at least one week, which still provides valuable benefits.
A lot of what we’re doing is going to be cumulative. Week one builds on week two, and so on. But each week also stands alone. It’s a very complex organization that allows each week to be optimally beneficial on its own, and even more beneficial when attended one after the other. We’d always encourage you to do more, but I think that even just one week of Camp Dynamics is pretty spectacular and can have some really great impacts.
Encouraging Dynamic Thinking at Camp Dynamics
One of the key goals of Camp Dynamics is to increase thinking opportunities for the campers. Instead of relying on direct questions or instructions, we create opportunities for problem-solving, figuring things out, and connecting the dots. This approach is different from traditional school settings, where teachers must follow a structured curriculum and provide step-by-step directions.
We are really trying to encourage each camper to think and take more responsibility for more complex thinking across the day. For example, instead of saying, “Put on your shoes,” a therapist might comment, “The concrete is really hot today,” which encourages the child to observe, process, and act independently to figure out that shoes are needed to go outside.
We really try to limit hand raising so that kids get the opportunity to look around and pay attention to their environment. We support referencing your peers and noticing environmental and noverbal cues. We’ve got more flexibility to create space for thinking in ways that are not necessarily going to get facilitated in the structured school setting, but are hugely important for higher level thinking, peer success, and success in general in how to think dynamically with our camp.
What Do Kids Love Most About Camp Dynamics?
For many campers, the best part of Camp Dynamics is that it doesn’t feel like work/therapy at all! All the kids, for the most part, love the fun parts like playing outside or participating in Water Wednesday. They don’t see it as intervention, or as school. We are able to combine intentionality with activities that the kids really do enjoy.
A lot of it looks like recess because we’ve got so much movement. We recognize the importance of movement, of the brain and body connection and how that supports learning. We’re never really just sitting in a classroom setting for very long during camp.
Reach Out to Dynamic Therapy Specialists for More Information
If you’re interested in learning more about our summer camp or signing up, give Dynamic Therapy Specialists a call at (225) 767-5032 today. We’d be happy to talk with you about how to get started.