The Callier Center for Communication Disorders,
which is part of The University of Texas at Dallas’ highly acclaimed School for Behavioral and Brain
Sciences, will hold its eighth annual “listening camp” for children with cochlear implants next week,
July 28 to Aug. 1.
Nearly 50 children between the ages of
three and 12 are expected to attend this year’s Crystal Charity Ball Cochlear Implant Summer Camp,
which will be held at Skyline Ranch, 1801 E. Wheatland Road in Dallas. Camp hours will be from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m., and the children will be bused from the Callier Center near downtown Dallas to the
campgrounds each morning and returned to Callier in the afternoon.
Each child will be paired with a UTD graduate student
who will serve as “camp buddy” and will focus on the child’s listening and speech skills. The camp
will give the children an opportunity to interact with other children who have had cochlear implants
and to participate in horseback riding, painting, fishing, swimming, hiking and assorted other recreational
activities.
Diana Terry, speech-language pathologist at Callier
and one of the camp directors, said, “The camps are therapy combined with fun. The kids don’t even
know they are receiving therapy because we make it just like any other day camp.”