Buddies Intensive Camper Program
For adolescents with special needs, ages 12-15
$680/week
Important Notice! In an effort to keep the integrity and effectiveness of our special programs such as Special Needs Campers (40), Buddies Intensive (8), Junior Camp Counselors (12), and Yak Apprentice (12) there will be a cap for participants each week, noted in parentheses. Once the cap is reached, a wait list will be generated. Please don’t wait to register because these programs fill up fast!
Registration Opens April 17th at Noon
Buddies Intensive Camper Program
For adolescents with special needs, ages 12-15
$680/week
Important Notice! In an effort to keep the integrity and effectiveness of our special programs such as Special Needs Campers (40), Buddies Intensive (8), Junior Camp Counselors (12), and Yak Apprentice (12) there will be a cap for participants each week, noted in parentheses. Once the cap is reached, a wait list will be generated. Please don’t wait to register because these programs fill up fast!
Registration Opens April 17th at Noon
Registration Opens February 3, 2024
Programs to fit everyone in the family ages 5-22 years!
Camp Yakety Yak has programs to fit everyone in the family 5-21 years!
Special Needs Camper Program
Ages 5-11
$635/week
Camp Yakety Yak's Signature Camp Program! This program is for children with a developmental disability or medical condition that makes participation in school difficult and who may or may not have an IEP or 504 plan at school.
Social skills instruction is embedded in all activities each day from the opening assembly, through a 30-minute social skills class, collaborative team projects, and recess activities.
Our professional faculty will design a curriculum that targets the social-emotional and communication needs of your child. A one-to-one assistant may be provided to encourage safe and positive engagement with other campers at no additional charge.
Buddies Intensive Services Camper Program
Ages 5-10
$680/week
The Buddies Intensive Services Camper Program caters to children with more significant communication, intellectual, or physical challenges requiring a dedicated one-to-one assistant. The program is directed by a masters level special education teacher with experience working with children with complex disabilities.
The program also has a speech-language pathologist who, with the support of graduate level speech-language pathology students, provides a communication-rich learning environment. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is a focus of this program, though oral speech is modeled and encouraged. A camp nurse, occupational therapist, and physical therapist will consult and provide wrap-around support.
Buddies campers will receive intensive support on increasing their social interactions, communication, and student skills which will continue to support their social and emotional growth and prepare them for a transition back to school at the end of the summer.
Explorers Blue Program
Ages 12-15
$680/week
The Explorers Blue Program caters to children with more significant communication, intellectual, or physical challenges requiring extra adult support or a dedicated one-to-one assistant. The program is directed by a masters level special education teacher with experience working with children with complex disabilities.
The program also has a speech-language pathologist who, with the support of graduate level speech-language pathology students, provides a communication-rich learning environment. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and oral speech are modeled and encouraged. A camp nurse, occupational therapist, and physical therapist will consult and provide wrap-around support.
Campers will receive intensive support on increasing their social interactions, communication, and age-appropriate student skills which will continue to support their social and emotional growth and prepare them for a transition back to school at the end of the summer.
Explorers Red Program
Ages 12-15
$635/week
The Explorers Red Program is a "pre-service learning" or "pre-volunteer" experience for teens with learning or social challenges who are still developing independence and leadership skills. The program is instructed by two special education teachers and an on-site speech-language pathologist consultant and the support of graduate level mentors.
The Explorers Red Program will follow a specific curriculum where our teens can learn new strategies and practice self-advocacy, emotional regulation, increased independence, problem-solving, growth mindset, social filter, and leadership skills. In addition, teens in this program will engage in a games class and a cooking class twice per week.
Neurotypical Siblings/Friends Camper Program
Ages 5-12 (They attend our General Camp)
$150/week
Neurotypical children are at or above their peers in social communication and behavioral skills, and are a very important component of our camp curriculum and can participate in either General Camp or JCCs depending on their age. Neurotypical peers are role models, and serve as examples of positive participation in camp activities. Thus, they receive a significantly discounted tuition rate. Neurotypical peers receive frequent positive adult and teenager attention for their willingness to try new things, be flexible, have empathy, and demonstrate leadership skills. This support makes Camp Yakety Yak as rewarding and fun of an experience for neurotypical campers as camp is for special needs campers. Neurotypical Siblings are invited to participate in our sibling support group hosted daily by a counseling professional or other professional staff member with counseling experience, at snack time. If your child exhibits behavior which requires professional assistance, Camp Yakety Yak administrators will contact you to discuss options.
Yak Apprentice Program
Ages 16-22
$1600/4-week Program
The Yak Apprentice Program is a 4-week learning and work experience focusing on "social and executive skills in the workplace". It is a unique opportunity for young adults to focus on job and life skills necessary for success in everyday life.
While in the program, apprentices will receive direct instruction on social skills, job skills, self-advocacy, and appropriate emotional regulation, while increasing confidence when faced with more challenging workplace situations. With support, Yak Apprentices will engage in at least one aspect of supporting the day-to-day operations of camp and practice other skills through modeling.
In addition, apprentices in this program will engage in cooking class three times per week and will highlight learning about community focused resources and opportunities.
All tuitions listed include a $100 per week registration fee that is non-refundable. The registration fee is all that is required to reserve a spot for your child this summer.
Each week children with special needs, Buddies, and Explorers Red and Blue Programs receive 25 hours of direct social-emotional and communication skills instruction. The more weeks a child attends the more effective the benefit from the camp curriculum.
Tuition pricing is based on the cost of speech therapy in a university clinic by graduate students, or approximately $20-25 per hour.
We charge very little per hour for neurotypical siblings & friends to attend camp. We do this for many reasons: 1) we want our campers to interact with peer models; 2) we want neurotypical siblings to have a chance to connect with each other and; 3) no special support is provided by Masters-level educators and therapists. Neurotypical peers are often part of our strategy to improve social skills of campers with special needs.
This is an expensive camp to produce, mostly due to the number of professionals needed to design and supervise the program to ensure quality instruction and safety. Tuition covers about 70% of the budget, the rest we must fundraise.
Please have a *digital copy of your special needs camper's IFSP, IEP, or 504 plan to upload with your application. A completed application includes a copy of the camper's IFSP, IEP, or 504 plan and completed applications are reviewed in the order they are received.
*Ask your child's school case manager for a pdf, it does NOT have to be a signed copy.
Payments, Discounts & Scholarships
Tuition Payments: A registration fee of $100 is required to hold the camper's spot at the time of registration and applies to the camper's total tuition. Families can make payments on their online camp account anytime they wish or pay the entire tuition at once. Total tuition is due on or before June 30th, 2023.
Neurotypical Sibling Discount: The Neurotypical Sibling/Friend tuition is significantly discounted compared to participating in other camps with similar activities offered. The $150 tuition for 25 hours of camp is less than the cost of childcare. We offer this discount so camp is able to meet its 25% neurotypical camper quota for our specialized Reverse Inclusion model. At this time, there is no additional discount for multiple campers within the same family with special needs. Instead, we encourage families to apply for a CYY Scholarship (see below).
Staff Discount: We offer a special discount to children (age 5-15) of staff members so they are not covering the cost of outside childcare in order to work at the camp. Please contact Heather@CampYaketyYak.org to discuss the staff discount. Due to limited space we are not able to offer a staff discount in our "Buddies", "Explorer Blue Program" or "Yak Apprentice" programs at this time.
Partial, Need-Based Scholarships for Campers with Special Needs, Buddies Intensive Services Program, Junior Camp Counselors and Yak Apprentices: We want all children who want to attend camp to be able to attend Camp Yakety Yak. We know that the cost of the tuition (which largely covers the cost of the professionals to be onsite) can be a barrier. CYY offers partial scholarships to campers whose families have a demonstrated need. At this time, the maximum scholarship is 50% of one week of tuition per child per family, so we can share the funds with as many families as possible. Scholarships are available for the Yak Apprentice program at a maximum of $500 for qualified applicants. The scholarship committee looks at multiple factors in determining the scholarship calculations. We do not have a maximum income policy at this time, rather the Scholarship Committee looks at all of the other factors that the family shares to get a total picture of need. When in doubt whether if you qualify or not, we recommend that you apply for a scholarship anyway and the committee will review all applications and available scholarship funds to make a determination.
CYY's Scholarship Process: We ask that families who are interested in scholarships complete the following steps:
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Step 1: Complete an online registration form their child for the number of camp weeks they desire.
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Step 2: Pay all of the registration fees ($100 per week) to hold your child's spot for desired weeks. The registration fee will be applied to the family's portion of tuition, if a scholarship is granted.
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Step 3: Complete and return CYY's Scholarship Application along with the tax documents summarizing the families income (we do not need the entire return. The scholarship applications are available through June 30. Applications received after that point will still be considered, as funds are available.
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Step 4: CYY's Scholarship Committee meets to review all scholarship applications and makes awards given the available funds. Families are notified by email starting June 30 about the scholarship award.
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Step 5: Families accept the scholarship award and agree to pay the family portion of the camper's tuition on or before July 1st. To assist families in raising funds, the camp has created a Camper Friends & Family Letter to Request Donations that can be sent to close family and friends for small donations. Our office applies the donation check amount to your camper's online account, the donor receives a receipt and you are notified that someone has donated.
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Step 6: It is required for all scholarship recipients to write a thank you note to the donor before August 9. Our office handles tracking and distribution of thank you notes to donors or written testimonials to foundations providing scholarship funds. Written thank you notes from parents about what the scholarship meant to the family are encouraged to include a photo of the child in their camp shirt, the note written by the child or a drawing by the child. Families who accept the scholarship and do not provide written thank you's may not be considered for future scholarships at Camp Yakety Yak. We believe that gratitude is one of the most important social skills we can teach children and hope you agree!
What if our family accepts the scholarship but is not able to cover remaining tuition? Camp Yakety Yak will refund all tuition paid to date, including the registration fee, and will give the spot to a child on the waitlist. Even though the registration fees are not refundable customarily, scholarship applicants receive a full refund.
What Makes Camp Yakety Yak Unique?
One-to-One Assistants at Camp: Children with special needs who have behavior that impacts their learning or the learning of others typically receive a one-to-one assistant at camp. This is different than public school assistants who are typically provided only for significant safety or medical reasons. Because our staff are largely student volunteers we feel that often children and students learn best in a one-to-one relationship. If your child needs supervision to participate well in a group, they may be able to receive an assistant at our camp.
Personal Support Workers (PSWs): Children with special needs who have a Personal Support Worker may have them accompany them at camp. There is a Personal Support Worker registration link on the "Get Involved" page.