Kayaking on the loch.
Abseiling.
Midge helmets required.	Abseiling.

BSA Scotland's Summer 'Scool 2008 was a great success despite inclement weather. The biggest difference from last year was that the group included girls this time around. Lots of them - compared to research data on the gender ratio in stammering! Last year all twenty-four participants were boys. This summer six girls attended. We also altered the gender mix amongst staff with two male therapists making a fantastic contribution to the team. In addition, we were joined by two adult volunteers who stammer; James Stewart, an active member of the BSA Scotland Committee, and Renata Uzmanska, an artist and member of the Edinburgh self help group. Last but not least, a speech and language therapy student came along to learn about the project and evaluate participants' progress.

Course participants were kept very busy. We get up at 7.15, breakfast at 8.00 and perform dorm duties before 'Group Time' at 9.20.This year the course programme involved three hours of 'Group Time' with speech and language therapists every morning and outdoor activities every afternoon from 13.30 - 17.00. After showers, tea and another dorm inspection, evening activities from 19.00 - 21.30 included a further hour with the therapists and 1.5 hours with the outdoor activity staff. Nonetheless, the children and young people seemed to find endless energy for staying awake in their dorms until the wee small hours! The excitement of being away from home and sharing a room with several new friends meant that sleep was the last thing on their minds!

Outdoor activities included gorge walking, caving, abseiling and kayaking. The entire party of therapists, volunteers and participants took to the loch for a mass canoe and kayak on the final afternoon and was blessed with calm water, sunshine and close encounters with seals. For the rest of the week it seemed the weather only varied between two speeds of rain: torrential and monsoon! As most of the activities involved getting wet, thankfully, this was no big deal

Socially, friendships were formed, new songs and dances were learned and all relished the last night party. We put our whole selves in and shook them all about before saying farewells next day!

... And somewhere in the midst of all this excitement, some excellent work was achieved in helping participants feel better equipped to deal with stammering. Here are some early comments from the perspectives of all involved:

Children and young people

"I want to tell you how grateful I am that you let me come on the course, especially because we had so much laughs. The thing that has helped me most was 'bouncing', it just comes naturally to me. If I start to stammer I quickly begin to bounce - it's really amazing. I'm really pleased I finally met someone near me who stammers. We have become the best of friends and can quite easily meet up. The course was really helpful and I now can't wait for what the future holds in store or me. All this would not have been possible without the help of BSA Scotland."

"I really enjoyed the course. I learned lots of techniques on how not to stammer and about having good body posture. I also made lots of friends and I'm a lot more confident."

Parent

"Thank you for the wonderful time our son had at Summer 'Scool. He enjoyed himself immensely and has talked non-stop about his time with you! He is happier, more confident and stammering less. He has really benefited from the speech therapy sessions and the opportunity to interact and bond with other children 'in the same boat'. The course has proved to be an invaluable experience which he will never forget."

Volunteer

"I found working with the children to be so rewarding and hope they were able to learn something from my experiences of having a stammer. The whole week has really broadened my horizons and helped me with my own speech as well. I think it's fantastic that children who stammer are able to go on a holiday like this and I hope it will continue for years to come."

Therapists

"Of course there are a battery of tests and measures to assess the week but it should really be judged by the smiles and laughter; by participants feeling a little less isolated; by the number who would jump at the chance of returning; by the memories of a week where they were constantly surrounded by people who knew exactly how they felt when they stammered."

"Thank you for the fantastic opportunity to work alongside therapists from across Scotland, delivering therapy in such a fun, exciting and effective way. Summer 'Scool has a way of firing enthusiasm to make changes to local service delivery which remains long after the week is over. After a colleague and I attended last year we set up an evening 'club' for local children and facilitated social events for them and their parents, to reduce isolation. We plan to develop this further with the possibility Grampian wide events to maintain peer support."

Summers 'Scool 2007 - report.
Summers 'Scool 2009 - report.