Media Release – Variety Tasmania, 7 October 2023
Life changing Variety Motor Mouth Camp helping kids communicate
A multi-day camp this weekend at The Lea in Kingston is helping children who have limited speech and their families, communicate better.
“Variety Motor Mouth Camp is a fantastic opportunity to help kids connect with their families. These children rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to express themselves but often their siblings and carers aren’t as familiar with the devices, so this camp is all about creating a fun environment to learn to use the device to its full potential,” said Variety Tasmania CEO, Mohammad Aldergham.
Assisted by a team of volunteer speech pathologists, an occupational therapist, teachers, teacher assistants and university students, AAC will be used during all camp activities encouraging the child and their family to fully embrace their system and to incorporate it into their everyday life.
The children and their siblings will enjoy a range of activities including a petting zoo, archery, making superhero costumes and ‘buying’ items from the camp shop, all designed to mimic real-life scenarios.
“Communicating when you have minimal speech can be a challenge, particularly when key people in your life can’t always use your communication system. Kids deserve the opportunity to develop their communication skills in a fun setting and to meet others just like them – this is what Variety’s Motor Mouth Camp is all about,” Mr Aldergham said.
“We hope the children and their families will head home from camp with significantly more confidence and enthusiasm about using their devices.”
In the last 12 months, Variety granted over $400,000 to kids at risk of falling through the gaps across Tasmania, which has positively impacted the lives of more than 7,000 children and their families.
