Campus & Community

CHAT Camp Wraps Up Successful Summer Program

Wednesday, September 4, 2013, By Keith Kobland

The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University is helping to provide a voice to nonverbal children. This video explains the concept of CHAT (Communication Hope through Assistive Technology) and explains how one SU alumnus is lending a voice and his support to the program.

Here’s a transcribed version of our story:

Interview: “With the flip of a switch the new CHAT central online community went live. It was the culmination of the first week of CHAT Camp. CHAT, standing for Communication Hope Through Assistive Technology.”

Barbara Tresness: “Our celebration came to be because we have a child who is non-verbal and it took us over 10 years to find out how to communicate with him.”

Interviewer: “Barb and Greg Tresness were a driving factor in CHAT making a financial commitment to the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.”

Barb Tresness: “Ten years is a long time to not communicate with your child and so we’re hoping to raise awareness and bring local resources here to the Syracuse community so that folks in our situation don’t have to wait ten years. CHAT is named Communication Hope through Assistive Technology so that we raise awareness of how different folks communicate. There are five campers involved, each of them has a unique way to communicate, and all of the children have completely different situations. It’s exciting to see how they have come together, how they’ve blossomed from seeing other children using devices just like them.”

Interviewer: “The young people who take part in Chad including Barb’s son, Graham, have hopes, dreams, ideas and abilities. It’s through the use of augmented and alternative communication that they can express those ideas.”

Barbara Tresness: “For those parents out there who are struggling to help the world understand that it’s important to have communication support and therapists who understand how to support our children as they learn and grow as communicators, having an institution like Syracuse University backing us has been phenomenal.”

Peter Blanck, BBI Chairman: “The Burton Blatt Institute is so honored to partner with the Tresness family and the CHAT program because it’s exactly what we are designed to do, that is to advance the civil, economic and social impact and quality of life for people with disabilities in our society and around the world.”

Interviewer: “Among the many activities as part of the week-long CHAT Camp was a visit to the studios of YNN, where CHAT has a major supporter.”

Jason Benetti ’05: “Well we welcome everybody in here and we certainly hope you have a great time celebrating along with us.”

Interviewer: “Jason, an SU alum, is a big believer in CHAT. Syracuse sports fans know his voice well, providing play-by-play of the AAA Syracuse Chiefs.”

Jason Benetti: “If all of these people in the stadium knew about these kids and knew how difficult it was for the kids, and parents alike, and how just a little bit of assistance or a little bit of kindness changes perspective on the world for these people and we could change that we can move that a little bit just move the needle slightly, I want to do it.”

Interviewer: “Benetti spent the week with CHAT campers, got to know them, became friends with them and gain a key understanding of the importance of this program. That’s why he’s lending his voice and throwing his support behind CHAT.”

Benetti: “Some of those kids are sitting there typing away ‘I’m happy,’ ‘I’m sad,” ‘I wanna see this person,’ ‘Where we going next?’ Some of the things that they were providing in terms of communication for somebody who is non-verbal, those are the stepping stones that you can see and say if we threw some resources at this, these kids would be significantly better off because they have ideas that’s the missing component for people out in public. They see somebody who’s non-verbal or can’t really move and they think no ideas in there… it’s not true.”

Interviewer: “The hope here is that CHAT camp and CHAT club serve as a model at schools and teaching establishments nationwide giving non-verbal young people something that many of us may take for granted, namely a voice. Keith Kobland, SU News.”