Each summer, children from across the state gather at the UNCG Speech and Hearing Center to work on listening. The Listening Lab Camp, for children ages 7 to 12, helps children who have been diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) in a fun and engaging way.
Now in its 11th year, the camp has evolved but maintains its core focus of helping children process sound more accurately, using a program to train the brain to be a better listener. Children must be diagnosed with APD before they are eligible to attend.
The impetus for the camp was to do a rehab program for kids. Intensive therapy and intervention can help. There are different types (of therapy), and the camp lets kids try out several different interventions. It’s also a great social opportunity, because they are with other kids with similar issues.
Dr. Lisa Fox-Thomas, assistant director and coordinator of audiology services at the Speech and Hearing Center, and the director of Listening Lab
For Guilford County mom Mira Kostyshyn and her 7-year-old daughter, Aviara, the camp was a new approach to something they had worked on for several years. Aviara has had a moderate speech delay since 2021, and began seeing an audiologist in 2023.
“The older she got, when reading was introduced, she could do letters and write, but it was all memory. She couldn’t blend words in reading or compose,” Kostyshyn said of her daughter. “She understood words but couldn’t rhyme.”
After dyslexia was ruled out, it was determined Aviara had APD.
“What people don’t understand is it has nothing to do with hearing or intelligence, it’s neurological,” Kostyshyn said. “Her brain can’t handle (noise).” Aviara came to UNCG earlier this year for some early testing with Fox-Thomas in the Speech and Hearing Center, before signing up for Listening Lab.
The camp’s theme this year was BUILD (Bringing Unique Ideas to Listening Development), and it focused on STEAM activities that were entertaining while still educational.
There were nine children from throughout the state in the program. Five of UNCG’s Communication Sciences and Disorders’ graduate students created the Listening Lab’s activities. These included an interactive metronome, with children clapping their hands, tapping their feet, or patting their body to a beat they listened to on headphones; playing different musical instruments to songs, and switching out which instrument is use based on what is happening in the song; and doing multi-step instructional activities to determine comprehension and following directions. These activities could include a relay race, building a baking soda and vinegar volcano, charades, or an escape room, to help with motor skills and memory.
The summer program is a class for the graduate students, who conducted a prescreening of the children, then created one or two objective, measurable goals for each student in the camp, said professor and clinical educator Matthew Cuddington. The graduate students monitored each child’s progress throughout the program. At the conclusion of Listening Lab, a progress report with suggestions and recommended therapy was created for the parents.
Kostyshyn said this day camp is different from others Aviara has attended for APD.
“She hasn’t been as overstimulated or emotional with this camp,” Kostyshyn said. “The art integration has been very helpful.”
By Sarah Newell