What do you kids with higher support needs (can’t attend “regular” camps) do in the summer?

[Anonymous]

I’m going crazy

[Anonymous]

Bender JCC inclusion program. Wish there were additional options but have not found any for severely disabled.

[Anonymous]

Your county parks and rec will have a program. Which county are you in? It might be full now.

[Anonymous]

Can you be more specific OP?

My kid has "invisible" autism, what would have been an Aspergers diagnosis a few years back. Rigidity often takes the form of rule following/compliance, so can do very well in classroom environments with a good teacher. But camp is a nightmare because the schedule changes and the less effective/experienced supervision (most camps staff are college age or just out of college) results in high frustration and more volatility. We learned this lesson the hard way.

We still do two weeks of camp each summer. One is through an activity she has done for years and is run by her regular instructors, takes place in the regular facility, and is almost entirely indoors (this is a key factor for my particular kid). It's not full day though. The other is an academic camp run by her school, and again -- familiar instructor and setting, thought that one does have more outdoor time and pushes her comfort zone a bit more. But it went okay last year because the instructors know her challenges/limitations and were willing to work with us. This year we are doing this camp in August to help with transition back to school, hopefully.

Otherwise, we do a sitter/mother's helper for most of the summer. I work for myself so I'm not leaving her entirely alone with a youngish sitter, which I don't think would work unless that was someone with a lot of experience with SN kids, which would likely be incredibly expensive. But I'm around in case things go south, and mostly they just follow a set schedule that we know works for DD. Being at home helps a lot. The sitter wills sometimes take her to the pool nearby, and they usually spend at least an hour at a nearby park unless it's insanely hot. It's not 8 hours with the sitter, more like 4-6 depending on her availability and how much work I have (or the nature of the work I have on my plate).

But my kid doesn't have severe disability. Just a kid with SNs that make camp very, very difficult.

[Anonymous]

How old is your kid OP?

[Anonymous]

If your child is on the spectrum.
The Verbal beginnings summer camp might work.
They provide higher level of support for children with moderate ASD. The child must be able to communicate verbally.
They take children with behavioral issues (if that’s the reason why your DC can’t attend “regular” summer camps)

[Anonymous]

What supports does your child need, OP?
It’s difficult to recommend activities when we don’t know the child’s age or the challenges that prevent them from attending “regular” summer camps.

[Anonymous]

Camp Accomplish has been wonderful for our high-needs child. They can offer 1:1, or 1:3 aides in some cases.

https://campaccomplish.org/camp-programs/

[Anonymous]

This school runs great camps depending on how much support your child needs. The ratio is 5:1 usually and it’s very structured with a lot of exercise. It’s just in sterling!

https://www.thenewtonschool.org/summercamp2025

[Anonymous]

It’s so hard. I left a job because I couldn’t put summer care together once. It got easier for me as my child became a teen.

[Anonymous]

I know one person who takes fmla every summer.

It took me some years to figure out what kind of camps would dovetail with my kids needs. Anything with crafts or too much free time did not work at all. Some camps are also more tolerant than others or have better understanding of special needs. Depending on needs you may also be able to find a college kid that is a good fit especially if you advertise at education schools or at a college psych department. But even just a patient college kid can be great. When we interviewed au pairs a lot of the ones we interviewed had siblings or cousins with SN. I’m not saying it’s easy but there are young people out there who have the skill set to be good at this especially 1:1.

[Anonymous]

Calleva !!! Very inclusive without making a big deal about it.

[Anonymous]

Imagination Stage has good inclusion support for kids with a range of needs. Also have heard good things about the JCC programs already mentioned. In addition to the inclusion support, they have a self-contained program as well.

Also, most kids with higher support needs attend ESY for part of the summer (e.g., half days for all of July).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Calleva !!! Very inclusive without making a big deal about it.

NP. What is the staff to camper ratio? Don't they do stuff like kayaking, etc. How would that work for a child who doesn't reliably follow instructions or has behavioral issues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s so hard. I left a job because I couldn’t put summer care together once. It got easier for me as my child became a teen.

Yes, I quit my job because I’d lose too much money paying for a special needs nanny. Regular nannies could not handle my child. We couldn’t find a camp in our area that had space for him. I hope you can find a better answer than I did.