Club chAT

Club chAT offers a fun and educational opportunity for children with assistive technology (AT) needs and/or augmentative alternative communication (AAC) devices to interact with each other. Using AT and AAC, children participate in a variety of activities such as cooking and crafts with peers in small groups to encourage communication in a more natural environment.

Participants have fun with friends while exploring assistive technology and improving AAC skills through socialization. Skilled therapists guide the experience.

Upcoming Sessions

Check out our club chAT spring sessions! Our Caregiver & Me Group (for ages 0-3) starts March 6! 

Register now for the Caregiver & Me Group.

View the Caregiver & Me Flyer.

For more information, contact Celia Chesnick at 216-791-8363 x1260 or cchesnick@ucpcleveland.org.

What is Club chAT?

Club chAT was developed and piloted by a group of Speech-Language Pathologists at UCP to meet an identified need for children/young adults to participate in valuable peer-directed experiences. Club chAT focuses on language, literacy, communication, and assistive technology within the context of peer driven social interactions. Children and young adults are placed in similar age groups to enhance their communication skills while fostering genuine friendships that may last a lifetime. 

By the end of a full session of club chAT (4-6 weeks per session), our goal is for each participant to feel like their voice matters, and for them to feel included, safe, and, most of all, inspired to take on a world with endless possibilities (and maybe gain a new friend or two)!

What types of activities are involved?

Club chAT provides a variety of opportunities to foster autonomous communication of the participants. All activities are adapted using various means to allow participants to be as independent as possible and are customized based on the age of participants.

Some successful activities in the past include:

  • adapted Olympics
  • adapted shuffleboard
  • creating vision boards
  • tie-dying
  • adapted video games
  • literacy activities

Club chAT first and foremost provides children and young adults with a safe and accessible environment. We take into consideration visual, auditory, and or sensory needs, providing an environment that is less distracting. We understand that novelty alone (people, place, activities, etc.) can be very stimulating so we cater our club to the children’s needs, with the goal of setting each individual up for success.

What do participants and family members think?

100% of participants rated our Club chAT session a 10/10 and said that they would recommend it to a friend. 

One parent noted: “I liked the creative way Club chAT combined speech therapy and occupational therapy to have real socialization and interaction skills applied through play with other children/peers. I also enjoyed the interaction in the pool. It encouraged my child to communicate to me about the activities they enjoyed. I like to call it therapeutic playtime!!!”

Another parent appreciated the opportunity for their child to use AAC with relevant content with peers of same age, yet supported by AAC specialists that evaluate performance, troubleshoot problems, and provide feedback for continued improvement in communication skills.