Special Needs Summer Camps

Alicia, 12, has been to the southern Ontario site of Camp Quality, a camp geared towards children with cancer, seven times. "When I'm at Camp Quality, I feel like a regular kid. All the other kids understand what it is like to have scars or disabilities," Alicia says. "You don't have to hide those things or be worried that you don't fit in. It's great to get together again with all of those people."

Camp Quality is completely funded by donations, so there's no cost for campers to attend its seven camps across Canada. Each camper is matched up with a "companion"—a volunteer who accompanies the camper on all of his or her activities throughout the week. Ashley Huggins has volunteered as a companion at the southern Ontario location for five summers now. "It provides a fun place for children who have been through so much. They forget about everything else that's going on," she says.

Campers participate in typical camp activities like crafts, biking and archery, and even hot-air balloon rides. "We get to do things at camp that most kids don't get to do," says Alicia. "I even went flying in a small plane one year."

Special needs camps with a variety of specializations

Meanwhile, camps like Camp Kirk in Kirkfield and the Glenholme Summer Camp in Washington, Connecticut, cater to children with learning and behavioural difficulties. Glenholme can also accommodate campers with anxiety and mood disorders or Tourette's Syndrome.

Camp Kirk's counsellors are older than the norm—usually in their early 20s rather than late teens—and undergo 10 days of intensive training, including material from the Geneva Centre for Autism. Staff members outnumber the campers, and there are always two staff members on "night watch," too. "With their needs, it's important to have someone there for them," says Executive Director Henri Audet.

For campers wanting to strengthen social skills while improving academic proficiency, the Glenholme School, a boarding school in Connecticut, offers a very structured camp. Campers take morning classes in core subjects like math and English, and then in the afternoon enjoy traditional camp activities such as swimming, soccer, and baseball. Unlike most kids' camps, Glenholme campers stay in cottages equipped with a kitchen, living room, dining room, bedrooms and bathrooms.

Glenholme's counsellors are trained in positive behavioural supports, motivational management, and CPR/first aid. Campers may receive credits for academic course work completed during the camp.

Photo: Camp Kodiak (by Colin O'Connor)

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