Outside Voice Selective Mutism Camp
Summer 2024: Murrieta, CA
4-Day Summer Camp
Murrieta, CA: July 28th-July 31st
Campers: Ages 3-11
Junior Camp Counselors: Ages 12+
While our traditional campers are ages 3-11, individuals ages 12+ with SM will attend as Junior Camp Counselors. These older children work with their counselor to really put their speaking into practice, serving as leaders at camp. In practicing leadership, they will use their anxiety-management skills to lead activities, exercise their decision-making skills, and be an excellent role model for using their “outside voice.” Camp for our Junior Counselors will start off with warm-up activities, followed by Junior Counselor training and practice.
Camp will run from 9:00am - 2:30pm daily,
Parent training will occur virtually on July 22 and July 24, 10:00am-12:00pm
*Dependent upon client progress, we may schedule off-site exposures where parents can learn hands-on how to implement “Brave Talking” with their child in the community! Generally, this is a scheduled Ice Cream Shop Exposure on the third day of camp.
Does your child have difficulty speaking in school? Talking to peers and new adults? Communicating his or her needs? Outside Voice Selective Mutism Day Camp can help! Outside Voice takes place in a rented private school, allowing your child to grow confident speaking in a real-life school environment. Our expert counselors will help your child conquer their anxiety around speaking and will help them start to use their “Outside Voice.” Our counselors include local resident family medicine physicians, allowing your child to grow in the brave talking voice, while also training local resident physicians in how to help children with selective mutism.
BRave talking skills practiced at Camp
At Outside Voice, your child will work on mastering the following goals:
o Speaking with a new adult (counselor)
o Speaking with a new peer
o Raising their hand in a group setting
o Presenting to the group
o Making brave guesses
o Asking for “Help”
o Asking to use the restroom (and actually using it; all attendees must be fully potty trained)
o Using common greetings (e.g., “Hello,” “Goodbye,” Name Introduction, and saying “Please” and “Thank You”)
o Engaging in spontaneous speech with counselor(s) and peer(s)
o Eating with peers
o Participating in celebrations
Camp is held across 4 days, with the final day including a field trip where your child will have the chance to show off their “Outside Voice!” Parents will provide transportation for their child to and from the field trip, but will not attend the field trip itself.
CAMP ACTIVITIES
In order to assist your child with making progress toward their goals, your child will participate in variety of fun activities to promote Brave Talking skills.
o Talent Show / Demonstrations
o Birthday Party
o Show-and-Tell
o Mock visit from a doctor or dentist
o Parent fade-in sessions where parents have the opportunity to practice learned skills with in the camp environment
o Cognitive-Behavioral based education sessions about anxiety and practice with coping skills
o Field trip and exposure activities where your child will have the chance to show off their “Outside Voice!”
Getting Started
Intake Evaluation: Families will meet with one of our clinicians either in-person or via a HIPPA-compliant web system (if commuting long-distance) to complete a thorough intake evaluation in order to verify diagnosis and determine appropriateness for camp. If after the evaluation we find that your child is not appropriate for camp, you will be reimbursed 50% of the cost of the session. Please keep in mind that Intake Evaluation is not included in the camp package. Intake Evaluation Fee is waived for current Pinnacle Counseling and Testing Center clients, as you would have already completed this session before therapy started.
o Camp Readiness Session(s): After the registration fee has been paid, your child will be scheduled for a Camp Readiness session. Camp Readiness occurs in the days just before camp starts and is where we work with you and your child together to get your child talking to one of our counselors. While some children are able to achieve this goal in one session, others may need more time. Camp Readiness sessions can range anywhere from 1-6 hours, though the most common is 1-2 hours. Please keep in mind that Intake Evaluation is not included in the camp package. Current Pinnacle Counseling and Testing Center clients who have already successfully completed a fade-in of a new adult do not need to complete an additional Camp Readiness session.
Camp Package
The 4-day Outside Voice Camp is $3195. There are 3 components to camp that are included in the camp package:
Parent Training Session
Outside Voice Camp
Post-camp Follow-up Session
o Parent Training Sessions: In order to support one another while learning and fine-tuning the skills necessary to help your child work on using their “Outside Voice” long after camp has ended, parents will engage in parent-skills sessions. These sessions are 2 hours in length and occur virtually on July 22 and July 24th, 10:00am- 12:00pm.
o Outside Voice Camp: Our 4-day Selective Mutism camp
o Post-Camp Follow-up: 45 minute follow-up phone call with the Camp Leader to discuss progress post-camp.
*Intake Evaluation and Camp Readiness Session are not included in the camp package.
Payment Information
o Registration: After the initial evaluation is complete and it is determined that your child is appropriate for camp, a $500 non-refundable registration fee is required in order to secure your child’s place at Outside Voice. This fee will be applied to the cost of camp. Registration will close on Monday, July 24, 2024 at midnight for camp.
o Camp: Final payments of the remaining balance (aside from contracted payment plans) must be made by Monday, July 24, 2024, 5:00 PM.
o Refund Policy: If there is a refund request before July 24, 2024 you will get refunded on all fees except the non-refundable deposit ($500). If the refund request is after July 24, you will receive a refund on all payments except $950.
Siblings will be offered a 10% discount after the first child’s registration is paid in full.
Campers traveling from out of state will be offered a 10% discount.
Current and active clients will receive a discounted rate of $2795.
We offer payment plans and scholarships for families in need. Applications can be downloaded here.
PARENT TESTIMONIALS
“We had a great experience at camp. My daughter loved it and made some pretty significant progress. I loved it also. I learned so much in the parent sessions from Dr. Gosney and the other parents.”
“We had a fantastic experience at Outside Voice. The intensive therapy setting really allowed our child to make a lot of progress and overcome a few of his major obstacles, including speaking with new peers. We appreciated the opportunity to meet other families with similar experiences, and the opportunity to work with other children with SM. It was eye-opening to test skills with children we didn’t know, both to see how SM looks on different children, and understand how to more precisely use CDI (Child-Directed Interaction) and VDI (Verbal-Directed Interaction).”
“I thought the format was great, giving parents training is a critical part of the process. I liked the location. I liked how the age group of kids was similar, it wasn’t too intimidating having kids that were much older. I think the counselors were well chosen and seemed to interact well with the children. I felt it was very successful.”