Jul 22, 2015 3 min read

The AAC Institute will host its annual ICAN™ Talk AAC Summer Camp, a 4-day program of therapeutic, interactive activities for non-verbal, special needs children who use speech-generating or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices to talk. This year’s camp will focus on teaching these children the language skills essential to learn about STEM (science, technology, engineering & math).

Now in its fifth consecutive year, the ICAN™ Talk AAC Summer Camp runs from July 29-Aug. 1 at the Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh South, Bethel Park, and is offered to children ages 5 to 21 years with speech disabilities who communicate with AAC devices. Approximately 25 campers and their families from the Pittsburgh region and from 10 different states around the country will attend this year’s program.

“Children with disabilities who use speech generating devices are often tech savvy, but at a disadvantage when it comes to talking about STEM subjects, because even with technology, they haven’t been taught the language skills needed for learning,” says Katya Hill, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, executive director of ICAN Talk Clinic of the AAC Institute and an associate professor in the Communication Sciences & Disorders department at the University of Pittsburgh. “Yet many STEM terms and concepts can be conveyed using basic English vocabulary or ‘core words’ readily available on their speech-generating devices. That’s what we’re teaching them to do at our camp this summer.”

In addition to a full-day of learning activities at STEM “campsites” set up with a weather station, a grocery store, a “self-driving” car, computer games and other engaging tasks at the Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh South, the campers will venture out into the community to practice talking about STEM concepts. They will visit the South Hills Village Mall to compare and calculate prices for merchandise, visit a pharmacy to understand how doses are determined, measure clothing sizes, and learn how different ingredients, materials and technologies are used in the everyday things we buy. Another day will be spent at the Carnegie Science Center where campers will explore exhibits on water science, robotics and engineering, as well as attend a workshop on temperature and the different states of matter.

“Lack of natural speech or any other physical or intellectual disability should not prevent a child from learning in general and from having access to STEM curricula, in particular,” said Hill. “Our goal at ICAN Talk AAC Summer Camp is to support children who use AAC devices to talk about science and technology and hopefully spark their interest in these fields.”

ICAN™ Talk Clinic, based in Pittsburgh, is part of the AAC Institute, a not-for-profit organization specializing in providing research, educational resources and advocacy to the approximately 3 million Americans who rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods to speak. ICAN™ Talk AAC Summer Camp is made possible by grants from the FISA Foundation, Romich Foundation, corporate and personal donations, and the donated of time of dozens of volunteer speech-language pathologists (SLPs), AAC professionals and graduate student SLPs from regional universities.

For more information about the ICAN™ Talk Clinic and the AAC Institute’s mission and services, visit www.icantalkclinic.com and www.aacinstitute.org.