Children with little or no verbal speech spent the weekend building their communication skills at a Kingston camp, which now has its funding secured for the next three years.
Variety the Children’s Charity held its annual Motor Mouth Camp at The Lea Scout Camp over three days.
The camp supports children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), such as speech-generating devices and other communication systems.
The next three years of the camp will be paid for by the sale of the ‘Little Steps’ charity house, a project led by Sam Morse and SJM Property Developments.
“Support from partners like SJM allows us to deliver programs that make a genuine difference in children’s lives,” Variety Tasmania head of kids programs Julia Shea said.
Shea said the camp was about more than learning to use technology.
“Every child deserves to have their voice heard,” she said.
“For children who use AAC, having the confidence to communicate and knowing the people around them understand how to use their communication system can make an enormous difference to their everyday lives.”
Volunteer speech pathologists, an occupational therapist, teachers, teacher assistants and university students helped run the program, which builds communication into every activity.
This year’s program included sessions with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Surf Life Saving Tasmania and Story Dogs.
Children also checked out construction machinery and took part in archery, bubbles and face painting.
Camp coordinator Prue Westland said communication was about more than making requests.
“It’s about sharing ideas, telling stories, making jokes and building relationships,” she said.
Westland said meeting other families with similar experiences was another important part of the weekend.
“It’s also an opportunity to meet other families who understand the challenges and celebrate the achievements that come with using AAC devices,” she said.
According to the charity, it supported 26,693 children across the state this year through programs, grants, experiences and community projects.
