Lead-in sessions are a systematic and evidence-based process during which your child becomes verbal with their counselor. Each session looks like a playdate to the outside observer, but it is actually a careful and methodical procedure to get children verbal with novel speakers. 

Children must complete lead-in sessions before camp to ensure the effectiveness of camp. Sessions range from 1- 3 hours and may require up to 12 sessions. Your child must progress through sessions and become verbal with 2 camp-counselors to be ready for camp. Lead-in sessions are required to ensure your child will be ready for a  successful camp experience. All lead-in sessions occur prior to camp week at our clinic and in the community! Most children require individualized treatment outside of camp, which is why we also offer group sessions, community field trips & individualized treatment before (during!) & after camp!

The 5 day intensive therapeutic camp is the core of our Brave Explorers Program. Here, Explorers join a group of peers for 30-direct hours of treatment, activities, and exploration.

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.

Campers are matched with counselors (1:1 ratio) who implement evidenced based strategies to reduce avoidance in selective mutism. Campers rotate counselors every few days to generalize speaking gains with new partners.

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 August to increase the generalization of verbal speaking into the new school year.

Parents also receive clinical updates on progress during lead-in sessions and a written report to share with their child’s school team. Selective mutism requires a specific treatment approach that includes iterative exposure to speaking. This enables children to become comfortable speaking with incremental goals. Moreover, children benefit from parent-child interaction therapy adapted for selective mutism (PCIT-SM) with camp counselors that is integrated throughout Brave Explorers.

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.

Once the intake process is complete, treatment recommendations from our clinicians often include individualized treatment, parent training, group therapy, and school support.

After camp, we offer optional, supplemental clinical interventions that help the transfer of speaking skills to school settings. These include an educators workshop to foster their teacher’s support of your child’s new skills. A summary of treatment success and individualized feedback on supporting your child in their school setting. Providers may organize a lead-in session with the teachers or accompany the child at school to do in-school support if needed.

A strongly recommended option for almost all campers is school observation, consultation, education with your child’s teachers and support staff, and in-school in-vivo exposure work. We offer both pre-camp and post-camp interventions to support our patient’s treatment needs.

• Pre-Camp School Observation:

  • During this time, a member of our clinical team will go to your child’s school to observe their avoidance patterns. This enables us to better tailor treatment. provide support specific to your child, and have a baseline for behavioral change from pre- and post-camp

• Post-Camp School Meeting with School Staff:

  • After camp has ended, we will meet with you, your child’s teachers, and the education team to discuss goals met at camp, provide recommendations to support carryover of skills from camp to school, and provide teacher training regarding selective mutism.

• Tailored in-person school support:

  • The applications of in-person school support are unique to each child. These supportive sessions can include but are not limited to, lead-in sessions at school, individualized support targeting increased verbalizations in the classroom and throughout the school.