T.K. Martin Center’s Camp Jabber Jaw gives nonverbal kids a voice

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY, Miss. (WCBI)- Camp can be a rite of passage, a milestone in the summers of childhood.

More than 20 years ago, the opportunity to go to camp opened new avenues for children who have trouble communicating.

That was the beginning of Camp Jabber Jaw.

This may be the final summer.

Funding issues already have some programs at Mississippi State’s T. K. Martin Center in jeopardy.

No one knows officially if this camp will continue.

If there is a cloud of doubt hanging over the camp, it’s hard to find.

Longtime instructors, newer teachers, the students and their families concentrate on the here and now with the hope that what they do here will bring them joy and a sense of accomplishment.

For some kids, the words just won’t come.

But the T.K. Martin Center’s Camp Jabber Jaw gives nonverbal kids a voice.

“It’s a break from home,” said camper Slade Humphrey.

For instructors and students, this is a chance to talk with augmentative communication.

“Before that, I was using only paper and pen and some gestures,” said Bac Shelton.

But this year is a little different for Janette Hreish.

She is one of several staff members working their final camp.

“What I’m going to miss truly are my clients and the staff the stuff that I work with are truly some of the most kind-hearted individuals who truly care about their client, so I’m going to miss that dynamic of truly getting to invest in the lives of people in this state,” said Hreish.

T.K. Martin Center Director Janie Cirlot-New has been a part of Camp Jabber Jaw since it started 22 years ago.

She is retiring but says the program has changed lives.

“I’ve seen it have a tremendous impact we’ve had campers who have come to camp and their parents will say they really don’t want to use their communication system. You know, then the let us know after they get back now she takes it everywhere she goes,” said Cirlot-New.

They also have people who listen.

“He connects with his friends at camp, and he looks forward to seeing them every year, and it helps him when we go back to our home to find ways to communicate with other kids who don’t have the challenges that we do,” said Terri Mobbs.

Bac Shelton is a role model.

“Of course because they need someone that they can look up to,” said Shelton.

Camp leaders and parents hope the program continues.

“I hope that it does continue I think it’s been a very powerful camp for a lot of people and so I hope that it will continue,” said Cirlot-New.

“I’m just so thankful to have been a part of the TK Martin Center and to continue to see how the impact will continue even though some programs aren’t continuing as it once was. I’m surely gonna miss that,” said Hreish.

At the moment Camp Jabber Jaw along with other T.K. Martin programs are in a state of limbo.

WCBI is scheduled to speak with someone from MSU about the center later this week.