This summer, I worked at Easter Seals ARC in Fort Wayne. I got the idea to apply there after I organized the ARC dance in Lafayette. I worked in a teen program and was assigned a group of sixteen special needs kids. Most of my kids were ADD/ADHD, ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), and Mentally Retarded. The group that I was assigned to was a higher functioning group that stayed at the facility all day along with another group of sixteen kids. Another group of lower functioning kids went out into the community on field trips. We did many things every day including Personal Hygiene, Arts and Crafts, Personal Space, Positive Thinking, and Sports and Games. The things that we did every day encouraged a tight-knit group. One success story- a 13 year old girl with Asperger's Syndrome was the most socially anxious person I have ever met at the beginning of the summer. By the end of camp, this girl had gotten another girl's phone number and they hung out on weekends! She got our "Social Butterfly" award because of her improved social skills.
Maggie Flynn wrote this post while working at a special needs summer camp in Pennsylvania:
I work with three other
counselors watching over ten amazing girls. They are 13 to 16 years old and
come from all different parts of the country and have a range of mental,
social, and emotional disabilities. Some have very supportive families and
others are not so fortunate. During the year some are in specialized schools
and others are mainstreamed. Camp is a great place for them because it is an
escape from their normal lives. An escape from the pressures of their teachers,
parents, and peers. It is a place were they come to make friends and learn how
to be independent. They are not pressured to be anything other than the best
version of themselves.
Even in this short amount of time the girl’s abilities to be patient, listen, work together, and solve problems independently have improved greatly. So too I have seen changes in myself. I have learned to be more patient, understanding, and empathetic; working with the girls as well as the other counselors requires has required lots of cooperation, teamwork, and compromise.
From Katie Hingst:
This summer, I worked at Charis Hills, a camp in Texas for children with Asperger's, Autism, ADHD/ADD, and any Learning Differences. It was a fantastic experience- while some days were difficult, I look back on my summer there with fond memories and remarkable lessons learned. During the mornings, I led swim lessons for the kids and snorkeling for the teenagers. During our teen session, one boy was enrolled in snorkeling, but refused to get in the lake. (He didn't like the way sunscreen felt beneath his goggles-- a lot of our kids had sensory integration issues). I was flustered and wasn't quite sure what to do, other than quietly encourage him to participate. Finally, with about ten minutes left of the activity, he got in the lake and tried snorkeling. And he loved it. :) He told all of the other campers and counselors how much he loved to snorkel. This sweet story taught me to meet our kids where they are at and take baby steps from there. Initially, I was flustered and frustrated that he wouldn't get in the lake--- we were wasting time! But improving his snorkeling skills by leaps and bounds was not the goal. No, the point was to try a new skill, persist through self-doubt, and gain confidence. Quietly persevering and showing grace to your campers matters most.
In SLHS terms.. I saw lots of classroom lessons in real life! Our children were extremely concrete thinkers. Our boss encouraged us to identify and minimize abstract language when talking to the campers. Phrases like, "Calm down!" or "Pay attention!" can be confusing to kids with Asperger's. Instead, we would say things like "Please look at my face when I am talking to you, so that I know you are listening." Our kids also had several deficits in the pragmatics area of language-- especially about what is and is not appropriate for conversations.
I would love to share pictures and tell more stories, if anyone is interested, please let me know! My email is khingst@purdue.edu. Do not be shy, I love to talk about camp!
From Hillary Greeson:
For the past two summers, I have been a camp counselor for the summer camps called Just Us Kids Outdoors (JUKO) and Just Us Little Kids Outdoors (Lil JUKO) in my hometown of Richmond, Indiana. JUKO is a six week program for children in 1st through 6th grades and Lil JUKO is a two week program for children in preschool and kindergarten. Both are completely free of charge and many of the children that attend the camps are at risk.
Specifically, I was a co-camp counselor at JUKO for groups of around fifteen to twenty first and second graders, with one group being in the morning session of camp and the other being in the afternoon session of camp. The activities of JUKO included playing games, doing crafts, going to the pool, field trips, dress up days, and other special activities including “Squeegee Hunts” and Splash Pad days. As for Lil JUKO, I was a co-camp counselor for groups of around ten to twenty preschoolers and kindergarteners, with one group being in the morning session of camp and the other being in the afternoon session of camp. The activities of Lil JUKO included free play, playing games, doing crafts, singing songs, dress up days, and other special activities including Fire Sprays.
Although most of the children that I worked with were typically developing children, some of the children had ADD/ADHD, behavioral issues, or other various learning differences. An inspiring story that I have to share involves one of my campers at Lil JUKO, a preschool aged boy who was born without hearing. Although this boy has some difficulties with his speech which makes him hard to understand at times, fours year later, this boy is one of the sweetest, happiest, and most loving children I have ever seen.
Overall, both JUKO and Lil JUKO have been great for the past two summers. If you are interested in working with children, I highly recommend being a camp counselor at a summer camp because it is truly a great learning experience and so much fun!
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