App State houses North Carolina’s only residential, intensive summer camp for stuttering, Camp Jean Rankin: Empowering Children and Teens Who Stutter. Since stuttering can become increasingly challenging during the teen years, this program will be a welcome resource for young people, aged 11 to 16 and their parents. The next camp will take place on July 20th—July 25th, 2025 on App State’s campus in Boone, North Carolina, nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
Please submit the Interest Form in order to find out more about the Camp and/or inquire about registering a new camper.
The Impact of Stuttering
Stuttering impacts approximately 1% of the population. It involves disruptions in the forward flow of speech that differ in quantity and/or quality from those of the typical speaker. People who stutter can struggle and experience physical tension and loss of control while talking. Stuttering may lead to feelings of embarrassment, anxiety and fear of speaking, as well as attempts to escape and avoid stuttering and speaking altogether. It can have a negative impact on the individual’s personal life, academic performance and occupational achievement.
Vision for the Camp
Camp Jean Rankin is a residential, intensive summer camp for adolescents aged 11 to 16 who stutter. The camp will run Sunday through Friday and incorporate both individual and group sessions for campers. In addition, the camp will include group sessions for parents that will occur on Sunday and Friday. The camp is designed to work on:
- managing moments of stuttering.
- increasing fluency.
- decreasing negative feelings and attitudes about stuttering.
- increasing the camper’s participation in their everyday world.
This camp is intended to give campers a positive experience with speaking, stuttering and communicating. It gives campers the opportunity to meet others who stutter and, together, they will work with graduate-student clinicians, licensed speech-language pathologists and their peers to lessen the possible negative impacts of stuttering. Campers will stay at university residence halls and will have the opportunity to apply the skills learned in everyday communication settings, such as in group outings that may include rock climbing, hiking, swimming and visiting area shops and businesses.
Leadership
For more than 50 years, the Communication Disorders Clinic at App State has been dedicated to improving the overall quality of life for individuals who have communication disorders. The camp’s oversight will be provided by faculty who have clinical and research expertise in the area of fluency and fluency disorders. Holly Hanley will be the lead faculty members for this initiative.
Holly Hanley, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Clinical Education in the Speech-Language Pathology Program at App State. Holly teaches classes in speech sound disorders and motor speech disorders. She is a past president of the North Carolina Speech, Hearing, and Language Association. Holly’s research interests include motor speech disorders, speech sound disorders, progressive disorders, and supervision of graduate students.
For more information contact Holly Hanley, hanleyhb@appstate.edu
Appalachian Today
Aug. 29, 2024
Ten adolescents and teens from across the Southeast and Midwest attended App State’s second annual Camp Jean Rankin this summer, which provides unique opportunities for youth who stutter to learn fluency and self-empowerment skills and to enjoy High Country activities.