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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Op here - whoops, this thread went off the rails.

Anyway my question was whether it was worth telling the camp that this approach gave my kid a panic attack. I guess I wasn’t clear in my wording. Apologies for starting a flame war.

In the end, I had a 2 min chat about autism, panic attacks and sensory issues and everything was fine after that. Yes, it was disclosed to camp that DD has ASD. Inclusion and all.

And ASD DD was not the child misbehaving. It was another kid. Too much chaos, loud sounds, and being worried about the other kid was going to jump on her - set her into her version of an ASD meltdown —- which is covering her ears, cowering in a corner and rocking. She’s pretty good at holding it together in public but sometimes it’s too much.

My kid is 100% honest to a fault - it’s one of her ASD traits. We were able to dissect the situation this morning to help kid understand what may have triggered her panic and what kid can do next time they feel overwhelmed.

I’m pretty sure there were some trolls having a bit of fun with their interpretation of Autism on this thread. But, for those who “get it” thank you. It’s hard navigating a world that touts inclusion but then says “you are the problem” when you ask for a small accommodation because of your disability.

It’s kind of like saying “people in wheelchairs shouldn’t get access to ramps or elevators because it’s their fault they can’t walk up a flight of stairs.” No! That’s why we fought so hard for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Ok, now tell me I’m a bad parent because I helped my 8 yr old. I mean it’s not like autism comes with communication challenges…oh wait, it does…[/quote]

Thanks for the follow up. I don’t think it is unreasonable to ask for a quiet space for her if she gets overwhelmed especially if they bill themselves as inclusive. I’m glad she is going back. She should not be punished for getting overwhelmed. That said, I don’t think you can expect camp will be free of noise and chaos. [/quote]

Op here - thank you. The accommodation was to allow her to take a break and do a quiet activity like coloring for a few minutes if she felt overwhelmed. There was no expectation on other kids accommodating or not being typical kids. [/quote]

A NT camp does not have the staff to watch your child during a meltdown. This accommodation should never have been requested. [/quote]

The camp billed itself as “inclusive” per OP. And letting a child do a quiet activity is not a massive burden. Maybe you should ask yourself why you feel the need to make comments like this. [/quote]

What does inclusive even mean at this point? I wouldn’t read inclusive and think that they can accommodate ND kids whose needs are greater than NT kids. Unless they spell out what they mean by inclusive consider it meaningless and don’t make assumptions. [/quote]

Isn’t that a little absurd of them to use that term if they don’t mean it?[/quote]

Inclusivity does not automatically mean additional supports. At a baseline level it means they are welcoming to everyone. It means they won’t exclude your kid from activities  because they are SN. They will encourage your kid standing in the corner to play but they won’t do much beyond encourage. It means activities are designed so everyone can participate. At free time they’ll have a couple different activities to choose from and direct your kid to the best fit. If they are aware of your child’s needs it means your kid might be given occasional extra attention like being seated next to a counselor but that counselor is still likely to be an untrained teenager watching 10-20 other kids. If your kid isn’t the highest need in the group they’re likely to get no extra attention. Sometimes it means they provide a 1:1, but that’s established prior to camp. They will support you providing your own 1:1.

Inclusive camps are very different than special needs camps or even NT camps that staff 1:1 counselors. A SN camp has smaller participant numbers overall and staffs almost entirely 1:1 or 1:2 ratios of counselors plus additional involved staff. Activities are consistent, well planned and fit within the scope of abilities for most campers. Those counselors are usually a mix of older adults and college kids compared to a NT camp that’s usually a couple older adults in the background and mostly high school kids. A camp that is NT with supports is a mixture skewing older with the more experienced counselors assigned as the 1:1. Some are even able to provide the same 1:1 across years.

For a kid like OPs I would at a minimum choose NT with 1:1 supports, provided by the camp or send your own. The behavior OP described would be an outlier for a NT inclusive camp with no staffed 1:1 supports unless that child had an outside 1:1 with them. [/quote]

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