autism camp not as successful this year
Find a Conversation
| Mon, 08-20-2007 - 12:14am |
It wasn't "bad" or "horrible" but this years camp was definitely a downer compared to last year.
In our area we have "Camp I Can" for "Camp Including Children with Autism Now". It has been run in an YMCA in San Diego for years and they have it going really well there. this year they added more at a Y up closer to us but it was not the same. They had a lot of the same activities and such but something was just different about it. I don't think we will do it again. There is a surf camp so maybe that one.
Mike has definitely had a down turn in behavior this week though he is trying. He came home every day very stressed. I think again they did not understand the upper end of the spectrum and put pressure on him to be normal and when that happens he just falls apart at home. (see pepsi incident). His counselor was about 16 and clueless. They also swam for hours each afternoon last year and this year it was maybe an hour. That is not enough for Mike.
They have done a silly thing. they schedule a different field trip each morning to some over stimulating place (boomers, chuck E cheese) then come back for lunch, the gym and swimming in the afternoon. They swim for an hour then go into this small room together and play board games and legos. that many people in a small room - bad idea. If they are going to do these morning social trips then they need to do the WHOLE afternoon in the pool for sensory purposes.
He is finally pulling it back together today but it is a downer compared to last year and so not worth the money. Next year definitely surf camp.


You know I have thought of Skater camp for chris and thought it would be great for him.
Unfortunantly at the time he wasn't dx'd, I had no clue and we just didn't have the money to send him. Big time Cha Ching....
It was an overnight camp too for a full week, and I didn't think he could do it. I also worried about the food as you all know how chris is with food. He'd probably starve to death or eat candy bars all week with the money we sent him off with lol.
If it only was a day thing, he would of probably had a great time. They did lessons on skating, had a class on build your own skateboard (which chris got really excited over since he loves to build and take apart things like electronics), but I decided he just couldn't do it. I just knew in the back of my head he wouldn't be able to handle it. And this was even before I knew anything about Autism lol.
I guess without those other obsticle's I would of found the money, but with the other things that "stuck" in the back of my mind I said, no I don't think it's a good idea.
They do have a day camp thru the rec dept during the summer here in town. It's very reasonable and he has tried a few days of it, but basically he is just not interested in it. He doesn't want to go. I think he has more problems dealing with the crowd and kids and such that he just can't take it. So I never forced him.
Man I wish we lived on the coast, as Chris might like the Surfing camp. But oh well, maybe next year I can find a day thing that he will like.
We had a similar experience too with special needs camp. It's a combo of mr and autistic kids, (some comorbid). Liam was easily the hf one there, so I think he struggled with having his own behavior understood, at least one of the counsellors would get friustrated with hiim. They also took the kids to over stimmy places 3 times a a week (movies, chuck e cheese). Sadly no pool there, but they would go to a local lake beach on Fridays, which was better.
Not sure what we'll do next year. We'll have to wait and see how liam progresses I guess......a year is a long time
Dee
Lainie,
The nice thing is that the surf camp is for kids with autism.
Last year the autism camp went really great for him. We went to the one in san diego and most of the counselors worked in John's district and he knew them so it went better. Most were well trained too. This time I think most were regular Y counselors or had minimal training. His own counselor was a nice girl and all but she just couldn't get it and sure enough got frustrated with Mike for "not listening" when I told her that he has processing deficits and doesn't hear.
John knows some of the folks that work the surf camp so that will help. Plus the ocean is great sensory wise for mike. He is one of these kids that needs to swim, run or bike ride for hours a day and he does great. He needs loads of heavy duty sensory input. Places like Chuck E Cheese turn him into a raving angry stim machine.
Renee
Sounds like problems at the camp's end, not Mike's.
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
I'm sorry for Mike, and you Renee. I agree with Paula. It sounds like the camp wasn't thinking straight!
But surf camp sounds great! Something to look forward to next summer! I think the folks that do the surf program are adding South Florida to their list, but it is just the weekend thing. Eric adores the ocean and water, so we might try it.
Also, didn't get a chance to post, but we so relate to the Pepsi incident. Eric gets fixated on things like that too which maybe do not make sense to us at the time, but like you said, they can articulate later. I think you did the right thing.
Katherine
I am sorry to hear that the camp didn't go well for your son. A friend's child attended the surf camp this summer, and she thought it was great.
My daughter (6, autism diagnosis) is attending camp ICAN this week, in the Kearny Mesa location. She attends a program sponsored thru regional center, called STAR, and they also do outings to Chuck E. Cheese and Boomers. My daughter enjoys and seems to do well at those places. This afternoon I'll find out how the first day of camp went.
My son, on the other hand, cannot handle Chuck E. Cheese or Boomers. It is just too much for him. He will flap his hands and run around in large circles, and cannot seem to hear me or respond to anything I say. He is not yet old enough for Camp ICAN, I don't think I will send him when he is older, he just can't handle those types of places.
We did Kearny Mesa last year and it was great. This was the first year in Escondido and we tried that. Maybe other parents had a better experience. I found that they did a lot more swimming last year.
Also, last year Mike was more obvious and maybe that helped. He is blending in better this year (he is 11 and made loads of progress this year) and had a really young counselor. I don't think she gets the range of the spectrum and perhaps just does discrete trials before. She kept asking if Mike needed help with toileting at first. Then after meeting him I think she just didn't think he was on the spectrum.
However, on the other hand I heard he was one awesome guy there. He was a big help and befriended this one non-verbal boy. He even showed the boy through the obstacle course at pump it up, etc. They were thrilled with what a helper he was. I am darn proud of my guy! I just don't think it was worth the cost this year. We loved it last year. He just came home stressed. That is usually a sure sign of over stimulation mixed with trying to fake it all day.
Plus, Mike is just one of those kids who can't handle environments like that. Not without some serious sensory stuff after. And a small room with lots of autistic kids at the end of this kind of day is not it, lol.
Renee