The best way to tell if camp is full is by contacting Jennifer MacGillis at (810) 225-3417. If camp is full, she can give you information about the wait list for camp and other possible treatment options. 

Lead-in sessions are conducted prior to CKC to provide an opportunity to establish speech between your child and his or her counselor. By having this session prior to camp, your child will enter the week more comfortable with his/her counselor and more prepared to make significant gains in verbal communication each day. The sessions last approximately two to three hours and take place in our offices in Brighton, Michigan. During this time, one of the camp directors will work with you and your child to establish speech to the greatest extent possible using behavioral intervention methods (stimulus fading and shaping). Then, the camp director will work with your child and his or her counselor to increase comfort and transfer that established speech to the counselor. 

Communication during the lead-in session is important, as we have structured activities and outings that we want all campers to be able to participate in during CKC. If we are continuing to work to establish speech during the camp itself, your child would lose out on important therapeutic activities.” For that reason, we will do all we can to facilitate your child’s speech during the lead-in session. If, despite everyone’s best efforts, your child in unable to communicate verbally (a relatively rare circumstance), one of two options will result based on the first lead-in. We will either (a) recommend scheduling an additional lead-in session for you child, or (b) provide you with documentation and recommendations for your child, as he or she may be better suited for other treatment options at this time. A portion of your camp fee will be refunded if your child is not able to attend camp. 

Keep your discussions about the lead-in sessions simple but honest. Let your child know that s/he will be meeting a few nice people and that everyone will playing games and getting to know each other. Your child may also feel more comfortable to know that a parent will be involved in the session until they feel comfortable with the CKC staff (unless otherwise indicated). When talking about the communication goal, you can let your child know that the adults will help them feel more brave, but avoid giving them the specifics that communicating in the session is a necessity. We don’t want to put even more pressure on your child who is likely already going to be experiencing some nerves. You can also increase his or her motivation to practice being brave in the lead-in by letting your child know that you can stop for a special treat on the way home (we have a great ice cream shop across the street from our clinic that usually motivates our campers). Feel free to also bring in any items from home that your child will be especially interested to play with during the lead-in session and that may help them feel more comfortable during the appointment.

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Parent boot camp/training is included in the price of camp and is a valuable supplement to your child’s individualized treatment. Each day parents have the opportunity to practice in a 1.5 hour training session with Dr. Kotrba. You will be taught strategies to successfully decrease your child’s anxiety and increase his or her verbal communication. While attendance at training is not required, it is strongly recommended and highly beneficial for camper’s parents.

While siblings cannot attend CKC camp activities throughout the day, free babysitting services are offered during the parent boot camp/training! Siblings can be in the parent boot camp sessions with you, but parents often find this to be distracting. The babysitting option provides a location down the hall where you can drop off children during these meetings. 

75% of the overall cost of camp will be refunded if the cancellation occurs before June 1st, 2023. 50% of the overall cost of camp will be refunded if the cancellation occurs before July 1st, 2023. After July 1st, 2023 NO REFUND will be given for cancellations.