Talisman in the NC mountains. South of Asheville. Solid program, primarily outdoorsy. Our kid spent several years going there.

(Fun, if a bit gross, fact: for the first few days of each session, all the food is absolutely loaded with fiber so even picky eaters can't hold it in to dodge the bathroom. They're gonna get over that issue; it's gonna come out.)

Summit in PA

My daughter went with her best friend who is on the spectrum to Girl Scout camp this year. They were super flexible with her needs involving food and schedule. You don't have to be a scout to attend.

Our ASD kid had a great experience at Camp Dark Waters in New Jersey (just outside Philadelphia). It’s small and Quaker and nice and there are quirky kids. It also is a good low key camp experience, the bathrooms are nice (tho u have to take a 3 min shower and they enforce it!) and there is allllways choice in activities. A lot of the sporty activities are weird made-up sports, aka Roof Ball. Some of the activities are really wacky like “Being British,” where they practiced accents and phrases and stuff. Nice nice people. And it’s small.

Camp Akeela https://campakeela.com

Anonymous wrote:Op back. I looked at Sequoia and Summit and wow that’s expensive. Wow.

Perhaps what I’m looking for is more of a quirky camp that would be understanding and accommodating. She’s done well before at a variety of daycamps but really thrived at Camp Half Blood that naturally attracts quirky kids.

She’d like a more independent experience at a sleepaway. She did a 3 day mini camp at a YMCA camp and had a good time.

The dc area sleepaways (or anything in the NE) are all going to be similar in price to Sequoia and Summit.

I think you should look at Kodiak. Also camp tawingo in Ontario - not SN but a traditional camp that is accepting of quirky kids and of kids with SN.

Also, last year I chatted with "The Camp Lady" - basically a brokerage to find a camp for your kid; they get paid a fee by the camps when you register at camp. I didn't find that service helpful at all, but fwiw here is the list of non-SN camps she suggested that were good fits for quirky kids with SN but who didn't have big support needs. I can't vouch for these at all, and it's possible she recommended them not because they're great for SN kids but just because they're on her list of clients. No idea! We decided we needed a SN camp so didn't call any of them. But including them here just in case.

Chewonki Foundation - www.chewonki.org

Kingswood - www.kingswoodcamp.com

Lake Owego - www.lakeowego.com

Ramapo Anchorage Camp - www.ramapoanchorage.org

Schodack - www.schodack.com

Wigwam - www.campwigwam.com

Op back. I looked at Sequoia and Summit and wow that’s expensive. Wow.

Perhaps what I’m looking for is more of a quirky camp that would be understanding and accommodating. She’s done well before at a variety of daycamps but really thrived at Camp Half Blood that naturally attracts quirky kids.

She’d like a more independent experience at a sleepaway. She did a 3 day mini camp at a YMCA camp and had a good time.

Op here. Looking for a camp specifically for kids on autism spectrum. Ideally near Dc? So maybe she could make friends she’d be able to stay in touch with? Or if not local at least in mid Atlantic?

Had good experiences both at Summit Camp and Camp Sequoia. Summit is more traditional outdoors. Sequoia is on a boarding school campus. The camps specialize in very similar profiles. I found Sequoia was a step down in support from Summit. Other people may have had different experiences.

YMCAs have all kinds of camps, one is the MAC program, Mainstreaming at Camp: https://www.yai.org/camping

Are you asking for a mainstream camp that can accommodate? Or a camp just for kids with special needs?

We did Camp Kodiak for DS last summer and it was awesome. Will almost certainly go back this summer (unless he had such a jump in skills that we think we could try mainstream camp - unlikely). It’s in Ontario, with lots of US kids. DS is adhd and very socially quirky, comes across as asd. When he describes the other kids, it sounds like he fit right in. It was a classic summer sleepaway camp but for kids with adhd and or asd. I posted some longer posts this summer before and after he went with more info, if you search the forum:

Special interest camp like French Woods

Oh. And I see lots of recs here for Jewish camps. We are not Jewish. If it was primarily secular, a Jewish camp could be okay. We are not Christian either. An arts camp or something like Quaker would be best.

Which camps do well with ASD kids? Child is 10. Highly verbal. Outgoing but rigid. On meds. Also has adhd. Not sporty but likes the outdoors. Has anxiety and executive function issues. I want someplace that will promote independence but also understand her unique profile.