The One In A Hundred summer camp was established in 2009 to help children who have challenges establishing and maintaining friendships develop social language skills within a positive summer day camp experience.
Combining Social Thinking® skills based on the work of Michelle Garcia Winner, executive functioning skill development and role play drama experiences, our campers learn how to share experiences with their peers in the best context possible — a real, vibrant community of friends
Our Staff
Our Staff is composed of experts who have experience working with children and young adults with social cognitive challenges. Our team includes licensed clinical professionals (psychologists and social workers), licensed speech language pathologists, and theater teaching artists. These licensed professionals work on site with the campers all day camp is in session. We offer a high staff-to-camper ratio.
All staff are CPR/First Aid certified and fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
Executive Director – Cheryle N. Yallen M.S.
Cheryle N. Yallen, MS is an international trainer/consultant with over 30 years of social service experience. This experience includes working with non-profit organizations as a consultant, Executive Director, Board member and practitioner. An active member of the social service community, she currently consults with numerous organizations in addition to being the Executive Director of a private foundation and One In A Hundred summer camp. The majority of her work has been with youth serving organizations. Ms. Yallen brings up-to-date solutions to today’s organizational challenges. She is also a published author.
Ms. Yallen holds a Bachelors in Psychology and Masters degree in Marketing Communications. She is on the Board of Directors of the American Camp Association, Illinois and Illinois Camp Operators Guild.
Camp Director – Mara H. Lane, M.S., CCC/SLP
Ms. Lane is a Speech and Language Pathologist with extensive experience providing individualized, intensive treatment to children that have been diagnosed with Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Non-Verbal Language Disorders, Delayed Language, Auditory Processing Disability and Hearing Impairment/Deafness.
Ms. Lane’s private practice provides comprehensive Speech and Language Diagnostic Evaluations, individualized Speech and Language Therapy, Social Pragmatic Language groups, and consultations to school districts.
In addition to her private practice, Ms. Lane has worked as a school Speech and Language Pathologist in the Chicagoland and New York area. Ms. Lane received her graduate and undergraduate degrees from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. She has a private practice in Northbrook, Illinois.
Learn more about Ms. Lane at www.comprehensiveslp.com.
Assistant Camp Director – Karen Lapinski Ed.D.
Karen Lapinski is an educationally licensed school psychologist through the Illinois State Board of Education and a member of the National Association of School Psychologists. She received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, her M.Ed. and Ed.S. in School Psychology from the University of Cincinnati and her Ed.D. in School Psychology from Loyola University Chicago.
Dr. Lapinski has been part of One in a Hundred summer camp since 2013. In addition, she currently works as a school psychologist for a public high school in Chicago’s northern suburbs. She has extensive experience working with children and adolescents with social communication and emotional regulation difficulties. In her current role, she provides direct service to students diagnosed with Autism, Intellectual Disability, ADHD, Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder, and anxiety disorders. She also conducts educational evaluations. Previously, she was employed for several years by a special education cooperative, working as part of a transdisciplinary team to provide academic, social/emotional, and behavioral interventions for students with low-incidence disabilities. In her free time, she enjoys travel, cooking, running, and spending time with her husband, Matt, and dog, Roxy.
