Monday, July 18, 2011
What kinds of summer camps or activities are most desired by parents who have children with disabilities?
There are many summer camps and activities that are able to help children with disabilities. These camps give the disable children the opportunity to feel normal. I really think parents and the community should collaborate on getting more camps or plan activities for children with a disability.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Geraldine,
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with the fact that students with disabilities need camps specific to their needs, I also agree that the best environment is one where students of all different abilities learn and develop together. One of the biggest problems with the children in our society today is that they reject anything and anyone that is different from themselves. They are rarely educated about differences; unless the opportunity presents itself and a student comes into their own classroom does their teacher maybe discuss the implications of that student. As a future teacher, I believe it is going to be my duty to reach beyond the information found in text books and provide my students with real world experiences and invite them to discover what other individuals with many types of abilities do that is both similar and different to their own. The greatest part about education is that learning can present itself in many different forms, and I intend to utilize these forms in the best ways possible to educate my students about developmental differences and provide equal and inviting experiences to those students who do have physical and developmental differences.
I think one of the biggest problems parents of and children with disabilities have is the feeling of not belonging in a community of people who deal with the same types of emotions and difficulties that they do. My cousin is on the autism spectrum and was very fortunate to be able to attend Summit Academy, a school that specializes in autism. He did not begin attending until high school, and his middle and elementary years spent in a public school were very difficult for him. Many of his peers and teachers did not fully understand his developmental differences and struggled to find acceptance of him. Summit was a wonderful experience for him and he found friendship in many other students. Even his parents found friendship among the community in other parents who were going through similar times.
My cousin was very lucky, but few with developmental disabilities are. Many parents/guardians struggle to afford being able to give their children the specialized assistance they need, let alone send them to a special school—especially in these tough economic times. The same issues come to play in terms of camps. Camps are very expensive to attend, as well as run. However, I truly believe that they are incredibly important to the physical and mental development of ALL children, both with developmental disabilities and average-above average abilities. They help children learn to develop relationships among other individuals they may or may not be familiar with, discover new things in each other and their environment, and provide lifelong valuable experiences that enable children to take with them throughout their life. My fiancé is currently a camp counselor in Columbus, OH. He works with all different types of children of all ages. Each week of camp has a different theme. For example, one week the theme was science and discovery, another week it was water wonders, and I believe this past week was fun in flight. The counselors take the children on field trips to museums, the park, lakes, and I believe they even visited a water purification plant. Children of all ages and abilities are able to benefit from these experiences and they are very important to development as a whole.
Geraldine,
ReplyDeleteWhile doing research on some of the inquiries, I came across a website that might help with your initial question. http://www.iser.com/camps.html is a website that provides a list of links for various types of special needs camps all across the country. They are listed by state. Enjoy!
Here in Cincinnati there is Stepping Stones. Stepping Stones offers year round services, Fall,Spring, and Winter services as well as an overnight Summer camp.
ReplyDelete"The mission of Stepping Stones is to increase independence, improve lives and promote inclusion for children and adults with disabilities."
Stepping Stones has been a part of the community for so long and I think parent would desire a camp that has been established within the community and promotes inclusion.
You can get more information regarding local summer camps and stepping stones at
http://www.steppingstonescenter.org
http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/svc/alpha/c/special-needs/resources/recreation.htm
I think it would be interesting to find out about a wide range of summer camp options, too. For example, what options are there for inclusive camps? Does a child have to only have a mild disability (eg. learning disability, speech) to go to a "regular" camp? What kinds of camps are there specific to a disability? (eg. MDA) Is there any kind of financial support for families to send their children to camp? What is available in your region for families to choose from when they want to send their child to camp? Etc.
ReplyDeleteI am currently working at a summer day camp that is fully inclusive. We work very closely with many services throughout the city. One of these services helps parents pay for their child’s camp experience, as long as the parents can provide proof of income, no matter how much they make. Many campers come to our camp through this service who have special needs which vary in severity. We encourage all children to attend our camp and to be equally included in all camp activities. We welcome the behavior therapists and any other type of support staff to come onto our camp grounds and spend the day with their patients to observe, or assist in any way they feel is necessary. We also work with a program called Merck, http://www.upmc.com/Services/autism/children/Pages/early-behavioral-program.aspx, which is an intensive behavioral intervention program for children on the autism spectrum. Every summer we have between 35 and 40 campers come to our camp through this program. Many of them get ESY services, and others can get scholarships through the community center that owns the camp.
ReplyDeleteThese campers are integrated into the appropriate age groups and have a TC (Therapeutic Counselor) with them at all times. These counselors are only there to support the child when needed; otherwise they encourage the children to participate fully in the camp activities. We feel blessed to have this program working so closely with our camp, not only to help these children feel included, but also to educate the typically developing children about differences between all people and how to accept everyone for who they are.
I am sure this is not the only type of program that works so closely with a large community day camp. Perhaps there are some in your area you could research further?
My cousin attends a summer camp for children with disabilities. He has downs syndrome and has been attending the camp for several years. It is an overnight camp and he looks forward to it each year. They get to travel to different locations during the day and work on life skills such as time and money management. If you are interested I can contact my aunt to find out more information.
ReplyDeleteI came across this website as I was doing some research and I think it will interest you. It lists all kinds of summer camps that are inclusive or strictly for children with disabilities and I believe they are all in ohio.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sst4.org/_upload/Summerguide/AT%20Programs2.pdf
I was doing my interview with a mother and she also brought up MDA. MDA sends her son to summer camp every year at Camp Campbell Guard. There is more information at http://www.mdausa.org/clinics/camp/
ReplyDelete