BY DARRELL HALEN

He will explore the ocean – perhaps as deep as 40 feet underwater – off the coast of Little Cayman Island in the Caribbean.

For Jeff Newcomb of Pelham, scuba diving will be a new adventure.

From July 14 to 21, Jeff and four other young adults will be participating in the third annual In-Water Experience Camp for the Cognitively Impaired.

It’s a program that seeks to increase self-respect, independence and self-reliance among its participants, improve their motor and communication skills, and foster their appreciation for the undersea world.

Jeff, 23, has Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by a deterioration in language skills in association with abnormal electrical brain waves.

It affects parts of the brain that control speech and comprehension. It is more common in males and begins during childhood.

Jeff will be joined at the scuba camp by his parents, Linda and Ed, who believe the program will be a good fit for him.

“Jeff loves the outdoors, and he loves the water, and he loves fishing,” Linda said.  “That’s his kind of thing.”

John Johnston, a former resident of Windham, helped launch the camp. Johnston had seen how scuba diving benefited his grandson, Timmy Rochon, who was born with Cornelia deLange Syndrome. CdLS is a rare genetic disorder and one of its features is delayed intellectual development.

Johnston developed the program with Little Cayman Beach Resort and Reef Divers, and with Oceans for Youth, a nonprofit foundation that promotes underwater education and an appreciation for the oceans in kids.

Through donations, all costs for each camper and a parent or caregiver is covered. The minimum age for participants is 16.

In addition to Jeff and Timmy, who is from Windham, there will be three other participants at this year’s camp: two young women who have CdLS and a young man who suffered a brain trauma injury.

Ruth Lowther, the program’s coordinator, said that campers, who also participate in other water activities, leave the camp more outgoing, talkative and confident with a “can do” attitude.

During the camp’s first year, a young man with CdLS wouldn’t look at people, didn’t like to be touched, and when asked questions, would look to his father or gave short answers. By the end of camp, he was talking in sentences, hugging people and smiling widely.

Last year, a young man with autism who had a hard time expressing himself told his mother at the end of camp that he wanted to take speech lessons – something he had balked at – so that he could talk with others.

Timmy’s stepfather, Nate Boutwell, visited with the Newcombs and told them about the camp after Russell Wood, of Woody’s Auto Repair in Pelham, suggested that Jeff would be a good match for the camp. Boutwell had visited Wood, a friend of the Newcombs, to sell him tickets to a fundraiser benefitting the camp.

“One of the biggest things I’ve seen is that it builds self-confidence,” said Boutwell who has attended camp sessions with Timmy and Timmy’s mother, Leeann Rochon-Boutwell. “They (the campers) look at challenges after they’ve been through the scuba diving and are not afraid to take them on.”

The experience also builds good team-building skills, and protective parents and caregivers learn to let go of their children, he said.

Jeff, who was educated in Pelham schools up to fourth grade, is outgoing, happy, has an easy personality and smiles often.

He speaks with a speech impediment and is cognitively impaired. He doesn’t drive. He doesn’t read, but can read some sight words.

This will be his first time scuba diving. He said he’s nervous but is looking forward to it. He hopes to stick with scuba diving after he learns it.

“I think it’s going to be a great adventure, and socially with everyone learning together and the instructions … it’s another stepping stone, another accomplishment,” said Linda.

It could also be another hobby in Jeff’s active life: He works part-time at Market Basket in Hudson where he has a job coach, volunteers two mornings every week at a Nashua nursing home and donates his time one afternoon every week at a fish hatchery in Nashua.

“He’s willing to try and do anything for someone,” said Linda. “He loves to help people.”

He enjoys woodworking with his father, fishing, golfing, and participating in the White Mountain Adaptive Ski School, an organization dedicated to making snow sports accessible to people with physical and mental challenges. The program is hosted at Loon Mountain in Lincoln.

Jeff attends Fisher Cats baseball games and antique car shows and enjoys other activities with his older brother, Brian, and sister-in-law, Kim.

He also plays on the alumni basketball team for Cotting School, the school he attended in Lexington, Mass., which educates students with learning and communication disabilities, physical challenges and complex medical conditions.

The Newcombs’ stay in Little Cayman will not only be a new experience for Jeff, but it will also be an opportunity for Ed, who got certified as a diver about 25 years ago at the Boys and Girls Club in Salem, to become recertified.

“If Jeff likes scuba diving and accomplishes it, it’s something he can do with Ed,” said Linda.