Participation in Camp Dream. Speak. Live.: Affective and Cognitive Outcomes for Children who Stutter

Exploring the Effectiveness of an Intensive Treatment Program for School-Age Children Who Stutter, Camp Dream. Speak. Live.: A Follow-up Study

“…Byrd et al 32 provided a comprehensive description of the five core principles and activities included in Camp Dream. Speak.…”

“…allows children who stutter to create meaningful bonds at these critical-age periods by including activities explicitly targeting praise, encouragement, and celebration with peers. In sum, the positive outcomes of Byrd et al 32 reflect, at least in part, correspondence between the goals of the program and the specific challenges faced by the school-age campers.…”

“…As the program expands to reach more children who stutter, it is crucial that the outcomes continue to be evaluated and replicated, and the methods further manualized using larger cohorts. Second, the positive impact of the program upon schoolage children who stutter reported in Byrd et al 32 may have been mitigated by including preschool-age children in the analysis. It is possible that younger children who stutter, who have not begun school and still primarily communicate with parents rather than peers, may have reported more positive pre-camp peer relationships than school-age respondents and, unlike schoolage children, reported minimal change in perceived ability to make friends pre-and postcamp.…”

“…These goals were achieved via a variety of activities designed to highlight five fundamental overarching goals of the camp: (1) improve communication and increase resiliency, (2) facilitate mentorship and leadership, (3) improve peer relationships, (4) promote understanding of bullying and teasing, and (5) desensitize oneself toward stuttering. Byrd In addition to overall improvement in communicative attitudes and quality of life, Byrd et al 32 reported significant improvement in the children's perception of their peer-topeer relationships via the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PRO-MIS) Pediatric Peer Relationships-Short Form 8a. 35 Although parents did not attend camp activities directly, all were asked to complete a survey regarding their child's perception of social interactions.…”

“…It is possible that younger children who stutter, who have not begun school and still primarily communicate with parents rather than peers, may have reported more positive pre-camp peer relationships than school-age respondents and, unlike schoolage children, reported minimal change in perceived ability to make friends pre-and postcamp. Third, Byrd et al 32 did not examine whether the benefits of camp attendance were related to the age or initial stuttering severity of the child. For example, a child who began the program with more severe stuttering may report greater change in communication after completion of the camp than children with moderate or low stuttering severity.…”