Camp Twitch & Shout 2023
Questions About Camp?
Watch our Camp Welcome Webinar to learn more!
If you are curious about if your camper is a good fit for our camp environment, or want to be added to our email list for updates, please contact us at campinfo@camptwitchandshout.org. While completing your camper’s application, please closely review the CTAS Camper Code of Conduct, which we require all campers to abide by while at camp, to consider if your camper is prepared for a camp setting.
Expected Costs
Our tuition cost is typically between $625-$925. We allow families to choose the cost in this range that is best suited for them, and also offer payment plans spread out from February to June. This tuition covers all expenses for campers when they are on-site, including meals, snacks, daily program activities, cabins, and annual t-shirts. We also offer a scholarship application for those who are interested. Please keep in mind that CTAS is unable to cover any costs for transportation to and from camp.
TICS Diagnosis Statement
Recently, a brave, young individual with tics reached out to Camp Twitch & Shout asking
if they could come to camp; even though they had not received their official Tourette diagnosis
yet, as they only had a provisional tic disorder diagnosis. This surprised the TICS board of
directors, as we felt we were serving the tic community; however, after looking more closely at
the requirements for camp, as it currently stands children must have an official Tourette’s
disorder diagnosis in order to attend camp.
The medical community uses the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
or DSM for short, to communicate amongst medical professionals medical diagnoses and what
individuals with these diagnoses might be experiencing. In its current iteration (DSM-5-TR), tic
disorders are housed under the neurodevelopmental disorders section, and there are 3 main
categories of tic disorders: provisional tic disorder, persistent motor or vocal tic disorder, and
Tourette’s disorder (formerly Tourette’s Syndrome). After looking at these three different types
of tic disorders, the major differences are:
- Length of time tics have been present (less than a year or more than a year) and
- The type of tics the individual is experiencing (motor and/or vocal).
Having a Tourette’s disorder diagnosis does not necessarily mean that that individual is
having more severe or even more frequent tics than another individual with a different type of
tic disorder. The differences between tic disorder diagnoses are largely arbitrary and, while
there are some nuances, are mostly used to communicate to other medical professionals what
the individual is experiencing. For example, if a doctor meets an individual with a provisional tic
disorder diagnosis, they know this individual has been ticcing for less than a year and may have
both motor and vocal tics or just motor or vocal tics. After one year, this individual will receive
one of the other tic disorder diagnoses, depending on the type of tics (motor and/or vocal) they
are experiencing.
As many individuals in our CTAS community have experienced, the road to diagnosis can
be a long and hard one. Finding a qualified professional for help can be extremely difficult, and
the Tourette Association of America has research that supports this. We do not want the long
road to a Tourette’s disorder diagnosis to preclude other children with tics from the amazing
experience of getting to meet someone else with tics and come to the greatest camp on earth!
Because of this, we have decided to open Camp Twitch & Shout to any child aged 8 to 17 with a
confirmed tic disorder diagnosis. By doing this, we hope to no longer exclude a child from the
magic of camp just because they don’t have both motor AND vocal tics for at least one year.
However you tic and however long you have ticced, you are welcome to twitch and shout with
us!
If you have any questions about this change, please feel free to email our board member, Emily, at ebraley@ticsofga.org.
We are excited to welcome our campers this year, old and new! Get ready for a great summer!
Welcome, Campers!
Camp Twitch and Shout (CTAS) is a one-week overnight camp for children ages 8-17 with a confirmed diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome (TS) or Tic disorder. Our Leader-In-Training (LIT) program is available to 17 year olds (or rising high school seniors) with TS/tics, which joins our traditional camp programming with leadership development. CTAS is organized and managed by Tourette Information Center and Support (TICS), in partnership with Camp Twin Lakes (CTL), and is located at CTL Will-A-Way in Winder, Georgia.
The mission of CTAS is to provide a place for children with TS to experience the joys of childhood and grow in their confidence and capabilities in a camp and recreation setting. It is our hope that our campers will experience understanding and acceptance of themselves and others. We want our campers to come together and create supportive friendships that last a lifetime.
At CTAS, we will focus on camper strengths while giving them positive experiences to support their success after returning home. Over the years, CTAS has hosted hundreds of campers from nearly every state in the US, and some international campers as well! We are proud to be an inclusive setting where campers can get to know themselves and learn new skills while connecting with others, regardless of their background.
Throughout the week, CTAS Campers and LITs, along with CTAS Staff and Volunteers dedicated to helping them achieve their goals during the week, engage in activities and challenges focused on helping campers to overcome obstacles and grow in their confidence and capabilities. At its core, camp is a place where our campers can just be kids having fun and making memories. A camper once said, “I wake up every morning thinking that I’m one day closer to camp.” We feel the same way and can’t wait for you to be a part of our Camp Twitch and Shout family!
Leader in Training Program
The Leader In Training (LIT) program is designed for young adults to gain leadership skills, challenge themselves, and eventually feel confident to return to Camp Twitch & Shout as counselors.
The LIT program is available to Tourette Syndrome diagnosed young adults 17 years of age. If you want to learn more about yourself, leadership, and working together with a group of teens who truly want to leave a camp legacy – join us as an LIT.