Wrapping Up an Amazing Summer at Camp Chatter!

As we closed out another season of Camp Chatter, we’re thrilled to share the story of one of our bright young campers, KeMoni. This summer, he made incredible strides that have left his mom and our team beaming with pride.

Camp Chatter is a 6-week summer program designed to keep the momentum going for children in speech therapy. For many kids, when school ends, so do their regular therapy sessions. This can cause a pause in their progress, making it challenging to maintain the gains they’ve made throughout the school year. That’s why programs like Camp Chatter are so vital. They provide a fun, supportive environment where children can continue their speech and language development without missing a beat.

KeMoni has been a regular at Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center, receiving consistent speech therapy to help him articulate his words, express his feelings, and interact with others. This summer, he had the chance to combine his therapy sessions with daily camp activities, and the results were remarkable.

In a touching testimonial, KeMoni’s mom shared how the camp helped her son make new friends, hold conversations, and even improve the way he plays and interacts with his toys. The growth he experienced over six weeks is a testament to the importance of continuous speech-language development, especially during the summer months.

Watch this short video clip here!

Thank You!

We also want to take a moment to thank you for your support of our Camp Chatter fundraising campaign! This fundraiser allowed us to subsidize camp fees for families and children in need. Your donations ensured that more children could benefit from Camp Chatter to continue their journey toward effective communication and social connection.

To all our campers, staff, interns, volunteers, families, and supporters—thank you for making this summer so special! We held a celebration on the last day of Camp with fun treats as our President and CEO Michael Howland passed out Certificates of Participation.

A Note from Our Intern

In a heartfelt post, our summer intern Emma Garneau had this to say about her Camp Chatter experience:

Happy to announce I have finished a 6-week Internship with Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center. I participated in working at a program within the clinic called Camp Chatter. I have gained knowledge and experience through the six weeks and I am so grateful. [I] learned different techniques for different sounds while playing games. I created different games like "Sound Hopscotch," where every time a child jumps on the square they had to say the sound or word, this activity was a fun way to continue the children’s goals such as articulation and listening to directions. I have grown more in love with this profession and I’m happy to continue my education and my clinical experiences. Thank you to the SLP’s and SLPA’s for helping me succeed within these 6-weeks. Another thank you goes to Jacksonville Speech & Hearing for giving me the opportunity to learn more about how to be a successful clinician.

We truly enjoy mentoring speech-language pathology interns and externs, guiding them through hands-on clinical experiences such as Camp Chatter. We love hearing about our students' positive experiences and are thrilled to support the growth of future clinicians.

Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center Mission Statement: To provide the highest quality professional and compassionate care to ALL individuals with hearing, speech, and/or language disorders in our community, regardless of ability to pay.