Going to camp is a treasured
childhood memory for many of us. Nights
spent around campfires roasting marshmallows and days filled with activities,
anything from weaving lanyards to horseback riding to swimming, glow like
fireflies in the back of our minds. Far
from behind a relic of the past, summer camps today offer a wide variety of
programs, ranging from the traditional (archery, tent-pitching, canoeing,
fishing, hiking) to more specialized (computers, photography, ballet).
Camp is such a specialized series
of events, and such an event in itself, that it may seem that it is
specifically designed for campers without special needs. As such, parents of children with
disabilities, whether mild or severe, often feel like there is no place for
their child in a camp setting.
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: A ventilator-dependent camper is lifted up
into an accessible treehouse. |
As a seven-year veteran of camps
for kids with special needs, everything ranging from autism and Asperger’s
syndrome to Down syndrome to brain injuries to cerebral palsy to rare genetic disorders,
spinal cord injuries, involved medical conditions, and muscular dystrophy to
hearing impairment and visual impairment, I am here to tell you that not only
is it possible for your loved one to attend camp, it is possible for them to thrive in a camp setting.
Nike used to use a slogan that I
particularly liked: “Impossible is nothing.”
While they no longer use it to sell shoes and athletic gear, I still use
it when I talk about camps for kids with disabilities. And it’s completely true.
Phil wrote a post on his blog
earlier talking about how kids like his son Adam, who were basically “nursing
home material… save the commitment of (the) parents” and how they’re not the
kind of kids who go to camp.
Except that every kind of kid is the kind who can go to camp.
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| A
camper with cerebral palsy enjoys a g-tube breakfast as she heads up to the
zipline |
At the moment I work at a camp for
kids and adults with disabilities in Wisconsin.
The particular program I work with is the respite camp, where we accept
children, teens, and adults with medical conditions, disabilities, or
behavioral problems that make them ineligible to attend most other camps or
respite programs. Our program is
one-to-one, one camper to one counselor, and our campers range in age from 3
up, with no real upper limit – I’ve worked with campers in their eighties! Our campers have a wide variety of
conditions, including autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy,
brain injury, PTSD, Down syndrome, among others. We see campers with severe physical and
mental involvement as well as campers with severe behavioral involvement. Our campers vary in the degree of assistance
they need - some need little to no assistance with personal care and
participation in activities, and others need total assistance for all camp participation
and personal care. We have campers with
feeding tubes, catheters, Port-a-Caths, tracheostomies and other various
"ostomies", brittle diabetes, intractable epilepsy, self-injurious
behaviors, DNR orders, and more. We have
two nurses on staff during the summer and usually one CNA to accompany them in
the summer; during the "off" season when we are only running weekend
programs, we have one full-time nurse and usually a second nurse for check-ins
on Friday night.
Our camp offers a wide variety of
“traditional” camp activities; swimming, cooking over the fire, painting,
soccer, volleyball, paper crafts, and community trips, just to name a few. All of our activities can be adapted to any
range of function. We have a dance every
week, and everyone goes on an overnight camping trip, sleeping under the stars
at one of our lovely campsites, set back into our 400-acre forest; natural
beauty is everywhere.
In addition to the traditional
camp activities, we offer a high-ropes course, a travine swing, and a climbing
wall with a zipline. The ropes course is
set up so that everything except for the high-ropes elements is accessible to
campers with physical disabilities.
Our goal is to provide a special,
fulfilling experience for our campers.
If a camper is happiest when observing activities, or walking around
camp, we make it happen. If a camper
loves all the activities, we encourage them to participate to the highest
degree. If a camper is unable to sit in
a wheelchair for an extended period of time, we improvise. Some campers hang out on blankets or
beanbags; others may bring their own positioning chairs. No matter how they are positioned, our
campers are always in the middle of the action.
Our one-on-one setup guarantees it.
It is my belief that camps for
kids with disabilities are an extremely valuable resource. Camps provide breaks for parents and
caregivers, while at the same time providing new experiences for campers. Campers have the opportunity to make friends,
try new things, and have adventures.
Camps provide the kind of experiences you want to remember.
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Drumming: Music is a great afternoon activity at a camp for
kids with visual impairments.
|
Here is just a short list of the
potential experiences available at camps for kids or adults with disabilities:
cook outdoors; write songs or poetry; identify birds by their calls; canoeing;
tour a local monument or museum; archery; put on plays; camp
out in tents; swimming;
sculpting clay or stone; play Earth Ball, soccer, hockey, tennis, baseball, or
volleyball; build models; tie-dye, tandem bike trips; games like tag or relay
races; attend concerts or other live performances; play instruments;
pontoon-boating or paddle-boating; group sing-a-longs; murder mystery evenings;
purchasing items from the camp store; campfires; and spending time on high or
low ropes courses.
And that may just be the
beginning. Remember when I said that I
loved the slogan “impossible is nothing”?
Well, it’s true. Throughout the
seven years I’ve been working at camps for kids with disabilities, I have been
witness to many things that I’m sure most people would find impossible. Here are two examples.
During my first year at a camp
for kids and teens with visual impairments, we took a group of kids on a
week-long canoeing trip. All of the
campers were either legally blind or completely blind, and half our staff was
too. We carried all our supplies and
food. Sighted counselors steered the
canoes, but our visually impaired campers were responsible for paddling their
weight, setting up and taking down camp, and assisting with cooking and
clean-up. At the end of the trip we were
able to tour a dry-docked World War I submarine, and then we spent the night
onboard.
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On the boat: A camper with cerebral palsy enjoys a boat ride
down the Wisconsin River. |
Exciting? Heck yes.
Tiring? Oh yeah. Impossible?
I don’t think so.
A year later I had the
opportunity to spend some time at a camp for kids who were on ventilators. These campers were some of the most
physically-challenged people I have ever worked with. And yet we took the time to rig them – and
their ventilators, vent batteries, and other necessary equipment – into
rock-climbing harnesses and haul them up into a specially-adapted treehouse, or
high into a tree’s limbs. The best view
from the treehouse was to look over the side and see all of those high-tech,
super-specialized wheelchairs on the ground, empty.
Unbelievable? At first.
Awe-inspiring? Totally. Impossible?
Not anymore.
If having your child be a part of
something as exciting and amazing as the activities listed above, you might now
be wondering how to pick a camp for your loved one. Here are some tips on finding a camp that’s
right for you and your child.
1 1. Pick
a camp that is accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA). Their website can be found here: http://www.acacamps.org.
Camps that are accredited by the
ACA are part of a 50-year tradition of providing safe and well-maintained camps
for all campers. Accreditation is based
on a 300-point inspection that covers all areas of camp. Every inspection covers all salient points of
camp, from food service to the waterfront activities, from health care
assessments to transportation of campers.
The ACA also has a helpful “Camp
Finder” on their website, which can help you find a specific camp that’s right
for your loved one. The Finder, which
can be found at http://find.acacamps.org/, is able to narrow down camp
choices based on specific disabilities or health conditions, including severe
food allergies, burns, autism, mobility limitations and more. It is also possible to search based on camper
age, camp location, session dates, or camp cost.
2. Once
you’ve found a camp that you are interested in, set up a tour. Most camps are more than happy to have
potential campers and their caregivers come for a visit. Tours are a great time to check out facilities
and program offerings, as well as to ask questions about all things camp
related.
Here are some questions that you
might consider asking on a tour.
-
What
is the camper to staff ratio?
-
What
sort of training do staff members go through?
Are they required to know CPR, first aid, etc.?
- What
are the living arrangements like? How
many campers sleep in a cabin? Who
watches over the cabin
during the night?
-
How
long are the camp sessions? What is a
typical day like?
-
Who
is responsible for giving medications and/or treatments throughout the
day? Is it a nurse?
-
My
camper has a trach/ventilator/oxygen/other medical needs that are very
complex. Would it be possible
for my
camper to bring their own nurse?
-
How
many lifeguards oversee the pool? What
is the protocol for a camper who cannot swim but wants to
get in the water?
-
What
are the safety precautions in place for the ropes course? If my camper cannot stand or support their
own weight, how will they use the course elements?
-
For
off-camp trips, how will my camper be transported? What kind of training are drivers required to
have?
-
What
activity is the most popular or the most memorable? Is there anything special about your program
that
makes your camp the best choice for my child?
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| Campers
with all types of abilities are celebrated and loved at camps |
A tour can help you to decide if
that particular camp is the right one for your child. If you feel like the camp’s programs are
great, but your camper has far too many medical needs to go to camp by
themselves, ask the camp if they would be receptive to having your camper bring
their own nurse. At our camp here in
Wisconsin, campers with tracheotomies and ventilators typically bring their
home-care nurse, who does all of their personal care needs, while the counselor
is responsible for the camper’s participation in activities.
The camp may not agree to this
arrangement right away, but offer to help them work out a plan. They may not be responsive because they may
not have thought about such a situation before – it’s possible it’s never come
up before!
The right camp will work with you
to figure out a plan that will enable your child to go to camp.
3 3. If
necessary, investigate possible sources for funding a camp experience.
Some campers already receive
funds for respite care, whether in-home or otherwise, through the state. It may be possible to put those funds towards
your child’s camp experience.
Charitable organizations like the
Lions, Kiwanis, or Elks are often looking for service projects to sponsor – so,
why not your child? Write a letter or
give a presentation about why it’s important for your child to go to camp.
Some camps have scholarship funds
for campers who demonstrate financial need.
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At the dance: Some camps have fancy dress nights or special
dances, where everyone can celebrate.
|
During my second year at this
camp in Wisconsin, I was giving a speech about camp to a group of college
students who would hopefully become counselors or other staff members at our
camp. I showed them pictures of our
camp, including our ropes course, swimming pool, and off-camp trips like
canoeing or camp-out. I watched their
mouths drop open as they considered the possibilities.
A student in the back raised her
hand and asked me how a camper who uses a wheelchair could possibly go down the
zip-line – they couldn’t stand, or bear weight, or…
I flicked back through my photos
and found one of a camper being strapped into the ropes harness. This particular camper has no control over
any of her limbs, cannot swallow, and cannot stand. And yet there she was, strapped in, with her
g-tube feeding backpack hung on a carabiner and attached to the harness above
her, heading up to the top of the tower, where she would then be launched down
the zip-line.
It was possible because that was
our mentality. We didn’t look at any
perceived obstacles – we saw only one thing: a camper wanting to go down the
zip-line. It didn’t matter that she
couldn’t walk, talk, swallow, whatever.
What mattered was her desire to participate on the ropes course like
every other camper… and so that’s what we worked with.
A camper’s desires, or even their
parents’ desires, to have amazing, life-changing, completely memorable
experiences, are what drive summer camps for people with disabilities. These camps are places of possibility, of
acceptance, of hope.
As a seven-year veteran of camps,
it’s often hard to explain my philosophy to new staff members, or even to
outsiders who have no idea how much summer camps can impact lives.
I simply start out by thinking
that anything is possible… and then I figure out how to do it.
I hope you will consider that a
camp experience for your child is possible, even if it takes a little creative
thinking to figure out how.
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| Campers
with all levels of physical ability can participate in a game of four-square. |
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| Swimming: The pool is a great place to spend hot afternoons.
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