Step 3: Brave Explorers 5 Day Intensive Camp
Brave Explorers Camp is a five day intensive treatment program for children with selective mutism. Over the week, campers receive 1:1 evidence-based treatment delivered in a naturalistic classroom setting. Each day is modeled after a typical school schedule, where brave talking occurs in classroom interactions like morning meeting, peer interaction, and field trips. Parents also receive 5 hours of parent training about selective mutism during the week.
Why Brave Explorers Camp?
Selective mutism requires a specific treatment approach that includes iterative exposure to speaking. This enables children to become comfortable speaking in a graduated fashion — which explains the entire structure of camp and the lead-in sessions! Moreover, children benefit from parent-child interaction therapy adapted for selective mutism (PCIT-SM) with camp counselors that is integrated throughout Brave Explorers.
School-Like Atmosphere
Brave Explorers Camp is simulated after a school classroom environment to practice speaking goals within the setting that mutism is most entrenched. Campers are divided into two classrooms by age group. School-like activities include morning circle/meeting, free play, snack, small group, recess, lunch and behavioral rehearsal to prepare for afternoon community exposure activties.
1:1 Counselor to Camper
Campers are matched with counselors (1:1 ratio) who implement evidenced based strategies to reduce avoidance in selective mutism. Campers rotate to different counselors every few days to generalize speaking gains with a new partner.
Activities For Growth
Each camper has tailored daily treatment objectives based on specific speaking goals to challenge growth and advancement in speaking. Children engage in these brave speaking adventures in late August to increase the generalization of verbal speaking into the new school year.
Community Engagement
Activities in camp are designed to be fun and challenging. Beginning with peers and counselors, the activities expand each day to increase exposure to new individuals and exploration of diverse settings. This offers children opportunities to show their bravery and talk within novel situations, which increases generalization of skills.
Effectiveness and Efficiency
Brave Explorers joins a select group of intensive treatment camps for selective mutism. Not only does the intensive nature of Brave Explorers provide effective treatment that simulates “real life”, but it also provides a condensed and cost-efficient means to accomplish these outcomes. Children with selective mutism often require multi-hour treatment sessions to see results and traditional treatment plans encounter a “dosage issue” in terms of needing more hours to achieve gains. When we increase dosing, and mimic real life situations (in-situ) we are often able to see quicker gains in a shorter period of time because children stop engaging in the negative reinforcement cycle sooner in their lives. This creates more opportunities for impactful change throughout their lives.
We look forward to working with your child and being one more effective step toward bravery!
After camp…
Once your child has a week of practicing approaching their fears through brave talking at camp, we offer optional follow-up interventions for continuing the learning, collaborating with their teacher/s, and maximizing the gains made at camp.
