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 “Kids, whether they have special needs or not, are
kids, and they are helped by summer camp programs,” said W. George
Scarlett, deputy chair of the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child
Development at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
Scarlett told Reuters Health he believes summer camps are beneficial
for all children and teens.
For kids with special needs, he added, “There is no need to change
the values and goals that you find in any good camp, the values of
developing a camp spirit, engaging in fun, recreational activities,
sitting around a family-style dinner table.”
The best camps for such children, according to Scarlett, have
special supports and counselors.
“Children with autism often require special supports to get out of
their comfort zone and engage in any new routine and activity,” he
said. “Children with more emotionally challenging disturbances need
special supports in the way counselors handle their anger or
impulses."
 Also, he noted, children with physical disabilities often require
assistive technologies.
Tufts has compiled a comprehensive list of camps for children and
adults with emotional disturbances as well as campers with cancer,
hemophilia, muscular dystrophy, burns, HIV, and other physical and
mental conditions. The list is available here: http://bit.ly/1mGBz8S.
Many camps offer children and teens diagnosed with autism a more
comfortable learning environment than schools, Scarlett added,
because of their relaxing environments and proximity to nature.
For example, Camp Wannagoagain in Pascoag, Rhode Island, works with
children and teens diagnosed with autism or a related
social-communication disorder.
"The camp is designed where we accept children of all abilities, and
our goal is to have a camp set up and supported enough so that they
can be successful and experience camp that is as close to a typical
day-camp as where their brothers and sisters go," said Joanne Quinn,
executive director of the camp. "My son's turning 19, and he's been
going for 10 years. We have a young adult section, too. We don't
want to say, no."
Camp Wannagoagain begins in late July, and nearly 100 attend.
(Information about Camp Wannagoagain is available here:
http://bit.ly/RrLWPY.)
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Quinn said many attendees swim, cook, learn karate and experience
yoga. "Our staff is very well trained, and we provide the sensory
breaks that they need. Some staff have been here 10 years," she
added. "Our kids generally get kicked out of all the other camps,
and we work very hard, we've never sent a camper home. If somebody
is having a really bad day, we staff accordingly so that we would
have the option if someone needed to have a parallel schedule."
Angie Kniss, former director of the Down Syndrome Summer Camp in
Crosslake, Minnesota, said she started the camp nearly 14 years ago
for her son. "We make it a week-long camp for them, so they can go
horseback riding, canoeing and fishing at their level," she said.
"This year will be our most campers ever at 55. We've had an
overwhelming response, but we need more space.”
Kniss said campers come from across North America for the mid-June
camp. (Information about the Down Syndrome Summer Camp is available
here: http://bit.ly/1jlote2.)
Camps surrounded by nature, fresh air and water will appeal to most
children, Scarlett added. "Fire is appealing, water is appealing,
games are appealing, and when that's the medium for relating, you
can bring in all kinds of good stuff – foster teamwork, foster
language, foster impulse control."
And according to Quinn, many campers leave with a love for nature
that they never experienced before.
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