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

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[quote=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.[/quote]

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