Kids with autism

[Dave]

Have you ever had a child with autism in your bunk? I had one last summer (2005). He was a very nice kid, and he was good at sports (once he was told what to do). He did have speech problem, but if you asked him to repeat what he said he would. The other kids in the bunk didn't seem to mind him. They were all friendly with him. None of them ever questioned his behavior or speech, which was a very good thing.

So how about you? Did you ever had a child with autism in your bunk? What was he/she like?

[martha27]

ive never had any campers in my bunk with autism. but i think that camp would be a good environment for a child with those needs to be. a supportive and family atmosphere??

[audur]

I haven't had a child with autism in my unit at camp, but during the winter I work at an afterschool program for kids with mental disabilities, including many who are autistic. Granted, "my" autistic kids could not function in a regular classroom setting, or at a regular camp - they're all severely autistic. They are usually one of two - the sweetest kids in the world, or very aggressive and at times scary.

One of my favorite boys at work (yeah, I know I'm not supposed to pick favorites...) is autistic - he does not talk at all, usually - I first heard him say something about three weeks after I started my job, and that was only one word, "shoe". He sometimes whispers to himself as he's working on one of his projects. He doesn't interact with the other kids at all, except by accident or when he's forced to. Instead, he builds insane castles out of building blocks, draws pictures that could be by an adult (he's 7 years old) and collects all the chairs in the building and arranges them to be a "bus". Whenever he finishes one of those things, he'll sit back for an hour or so and just admire them. He's a very cuddle kid - he loves resting his head on your shoulder, having his back scratched and his hair played with, and is by far the cutest boy I've ever seen!

[Dave]

It seems like autistic kids seem to be very talented. The kid in my bunk was talented as well (more at sports than art though).

[collissimon]

Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning their are loads of different kinds of characteristics that are all placed under the same umbrella.

The talent you're talking about probably refers to the Asperger's side of things. Kids with AS have social difficulties, finding it difficult to engage socially with other people, to compromise and understand social cues. They usually desperately want to join in though, but don't always understand why they have difficulties. They are often very talented in a specific area, such as Maths, English, Art or Physics.

The other side of things is called Cannas autism, which is the 'classic' autism. Kids who are cannas autistic are sometimes non-verbal, need assistance in daily living and personal care. They sometimes get over-stimulated with non-verbal social cues: they get frustrated because they don't understand your body language, and the conflicting messages are too much.

You also get everything in between this (to make things easier!), as well a series of related impairments, such as PDD-NOS which stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. I think this means that they tick some of the boxes for cannas autism, but not all of them to get a cannas diagnosis.

[Dave]

Hmm I didn't know there were different types of autism. Thanks for clarifying that collissimon! :D

[collissimon]

That's OK :)

People think that Asperger's is something different, or a mild form of autism, but it's not, it's just a different form...

[rockinsmiles]

i had a girl one week at camp who said she had been to an autism camp, and another counselor thought she had autism. im not sure if she did or not. she was really cute but she had a hard time paying attention and was completely freaked out about horse flies. she also needed help in "keeping" together but im still not sure if that was because she had just turned 8 or other wise.

[CAMPFRIEND]

I had the chance to run a speical need camp this summer. For some of these kids with autism it's what the need, to be with other campers and learn how to interact with other children and adults!! These kids can be your best or worst campers!!! It up to how you and the rest of your staff handel them!! Rembember they are kid just like the rest..
________
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[collissimon]

How did you find running the camp you did this summer differed from running other camps?

[CAMPFRIEND]

Our speical need camp ran at the sam time as our main camp. There were times that it was very hard when the speical needs campers would have an outburt or a break down. But all of our kids thought it was great. All of our older campers got a chance to be a day long buddie for ou speical needs campers during the summer. I think thaat it work well for all involved. Most days it did not see that any of our campers were speical need. It created a great bond with all of our campers. Just make sure that you have great staff to work with these kids. If not your going to set yourself up to fail.. For a lot of my speical need kids this was their first chance to interact with what we call out normal campers!!! It was great to see them have the same fun as other kids!
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[Dave]

Our camp doesn't separate special needs campers from regular campers at all. In fact, they're even put in bunks together.

[CAMPFRIEND]

What kind of speical need campers do you work with and what is their severity?
________
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[Dave]

I personally don't work with them, unless I have one in my bunk. But their severities can range greatly. Some are autistic, some have ADD/ADHD, some are blind, some are deaf, some are mentally retarded, some have braces on their legs.... I could go on and on, there's so many different types of cases. And within each handicap there are different severities on an individual basis. Luckily I've never had to deal with some of the worst cases.

[CAMPFRIEND]

It can be some of the best experiences of you lif working with children with speical needs. You can learn a lot abou yourself!!
________
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[collissimon]

Do you work differently (have different systems etc.) for special needs campers than you do for mainstream campers?

[CAMPFRIEND]

You do need to have a few staff who are more experienced with special needs campers. This year I ha a few teachers on staff. Also, there are times when you need to have other activities for them to do. For the most part they are just like the rest of the campers!
________
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[Dave]

As campfriend said, we have special counselors at our camp who are trained more for handicapped children as opposed to regular counselors.

[KiwiCRB]

This summer we only had two campers with autism. One was pretty mild and the other more severe (i don't know if those are the right descriptions but i can't think of any other words to describe them right now). They were both needed a little more attention than the rest of the campers, but that is to be expected. Neither of them were in my unit but from what i saw of them they were really great. The one that was more severe played by herself a lot but when she was around you and got to know you she was really sweet. If i remember correctly at the end of the week she was even joking around with me with the rest of the campers. If you have the patience i think it really is rewarding to work with special needs campers.

[Campy Measius]

Last summer when I was at Day Camp I had an autistic child. Before the session began, I did a 'home visit' and went to his house to meet him and his sister (we let her come to camp too, even though she was a little young, because we thought it would be easier for him to adjust). He showed me all of his video games... and I watched him play for a while.
It was a little hard for him at camp at first, because we tend to be loud and that bothered him from time to time. After a while he knew more what to expect and calmed down a little bit.
But it seemed like he tended to only listen to me rather than the other counselors, I don't know if it was because I was the director and he responded to that "authority" or if it was because I was the first one to meet him and we met on his turf... or maybe it was just because I'm such a wonderful counselor... ahaha I kid I kid :P
But seriously, I think that he'll be better at camp this summer because he'll go into it knowing what to expect... I won't be there, but do you think that if the new director does a home visit he'll respond the same way?
I hope so, cause he sure can throw a tantrum when he gets the notion!
What do you all think?

[collissimon]

Do you think he needs a home visit again this year?

I just ask, because if he doesn't need one, it might help him adjust to the authority of his counsellors a little better.

[Campy Measius]

Oh yeah, that's one of the things that we do at that day camp. Every camper gets a homevisit before the session starts.
We try to get as many of the staff to go as possible, but often times it ends up only being the director and maybe one or two other staff.

[collissimon]

Well he shouldn't be treat any different...

I think he'll adapt better this year, because most kids do (special needs or not) when they're going to an environment they've been before to a new one.

I think when he gets to camp he just needs to realise that his counsellors are in charge... and that will be easier because he'll know what to expect.

[amnickel]

This summer already we've had two kids with autism. They were at the same camp. It was so interesting watching how differnt they were affected by the autisim. The boy was more reserved and to himself; didn't talk unless you talked to him; was very helpful if you asked him to help you with something; got into the activities; had a great memory. The girl was very voiceteriouis (sp); wanted everything her way and always wanted someone to practically hold her hand while doing activities. It was differnt. There's also a boy in my 4-H club who is severly autistic. He is very shy until he gets to know you and when he becomes excited he has a problem listening to what you tell him. Once he gets to know you he'll talk your ear off.

[CAMPFRIEND]

We had a camper with autism and I think this was the first time he was away from hisa parents ever. He had a great time at camp and will be back next summer! We are going to miss him the rest of this summer as he brought fun to camp and the counselors never knew what he was going to do next!

[hutz13]

I know a growing trend is for specialty summer camps such as specifically designed programs for autism but I'm wondering if something valuable is being lost in keeping these campers seperate from mainstream camps.

I do understand that the time required to care for some special needs campers puts a strain on the staff but I think there is value in having special needs kids interacting directly with other children.

I'd be interested in your opinions on this question.

Jim

[collissimon]

That's a debate that I think is going on elsewhere too, in camping, in education etc.

I kind of sit on the fence in this, and I think it comes down to staff training (and thus economics!). I think that it all depends whether camps are willing to remove the barriers that prevent these children from participating. This includes training about the individual impairment, getting indepth knowledge of what the child requires, and methods of enacting it.

Do I think camps should be fully inclusive? Yes, I do, but at the same time I do think that there is a need for specialist camps.

Camp isn't like school, where you are there about 30 weeks a year. Here, I think children should be exposed to all kinds of people, of different races, faiths, genders, disabilities, abilities, sexualities etc. However, for some of those minorities, particularly those with an intangible disability, such as ADHD, OCD, ASD, dyslexia, dyspraxia etc. etc. school is a difficult place, populated with uncaring adults and is socially challenging.

Camp can offer something more than that. It can push back normalcy to include these children, where they find they aren't isolated, or 'weird'. They can socialise with children on an equal level, giving them something perhaps for the time, that they have every right to.

[CAMPFRIEND]

I know that we try to have them do the same things the rest of the campers do. It seems that they are different in school and treated different as well. Camp I think is a place that kids can come and no matter what special need is they can get a great experience.. I wish that my camp was better equpet to handle more special needs campers!

[prettysocks]

I too sit on the fence with this. I think the balance comes from experiencing both situations for kids with special needs. My camp is entirely special needs campers, varying in needs and abilities.

Inclusion is important, because it teaches some acceptable behaviours, social norms, show them a sense of normalcy, etc. Exclusion is important because it shows them they aren't alone, life doesn't have to include torment and bullying, and that they can do anything (no matter their ability).

No matter what their needs or abilities, these kids are teased at school all the time. Don't try to convince yourself that just because you think that cuddly kid is cute, that the rest of the schoolyard doesn't think he's an easy target for bullying.

At the camp I work at, every kid there, I can just about 99% guarantee you, has been bullied, or sneered at, or picked on, or called a "retard". They all know what it's like, and therefore there is so little bullying at camp; it's incredible.

The camp I work at is therefore a place they can come and be SAFE, and have all of their needs taken care of by specially-trained staff. We don't have specific staff for specific disabilities, or staff that aren't as trained - we all know everything we need to know to work at camp, and we know it well.

And if you think for a minute that because we have all special needs campers.. it's like a daycare of kids who just sit in their wheelchairs and watch TV and listen to books - you are 100% lying to yourself! These kids are active, they laugh, they smile, they tell stories, and interact, they take home memories. And do the counselors miss the campers? Oh man.. I'll just say - counselors wear sunglasses and baseball hats on departure day - and not for the sun - to hide the tears.

Also, if I may nit-pick for a second (please! not being mean, just advocating)...
Campfriend - Nothing is "wrong" with special needs campers. Their needs are different, not bad. Wrong implies that something is bad about them, something incorrect. It was just a politically incorrect of saying it, is all! :)
Hutz13 - Having special needs campers is never a strain. It's camp. Your camp should hire more staff, if that's the situation. Can you imagine being called a strain? Especially at camp, with paid staff!

Anyways. Hugest entry ever.

[CAMPFRIEND]

Also, if I may nit-pick for a second (please! not being mean, just advocating)...
Campfriend - Nothing is "wrong" with special needs campers. Their needs are different, not bad. Wrong implies that something is bad about them, something incorrect. It was just a politically incorrect of saying it, is all! :)
Hutz13 - Having special needs campers is never a strain. It's camp. Your camp should hire more staff, if that's the situation. Can you imagine being called a strain? Especially at camp, with paid staff!

Anyways. Hugest entry ever.

Ok I read over my post and made changes. I sure there are time all of us just post and don't read. Thank you prettysocks for pointing out words I needed to change!

[prettysocks]

Aww, Campfriend! I didn't expect you to change it! You're so considerate. Thanks, on behalf.

[CAMPFRIEND]

I love to type when it's been a long day!