As the parent of a neurodivergent child, thank you for acknowledging the added complexity of scheduling and then managing summer plans for these kids. I cannot tell you the stress of waiting for the phone to ring from camp because I need to pick them up after a meltdown. These calls come and then, by day three of a five day camp, they ar…
As the parent of a neurodivergent child, thank you for acknowledging the added complexity of scheduling and then managing summer plans for these kids. I cannot tell you the stress of waiting for the phone to ring from camp because I need to pick them up after a meltdown. These calls come and then, by day three of a five day camp, they are not invited back because it is ‘not the right fit’. To be clear, I do not blame the camps - they’re staffed with high school kids and college students and they are likely not equipped to deal with some of the challenges my child presents in a group environment. But paying $500 for them to attend a camp for 5 days and receiving only 3 days of care? Well it sucks and there’s a lot of (misplaced) shame and embarrassment afterward. Thankfully, these calls are coming less and less as we have found great camps for them and they have been better able to manage changes in routine. But the problems of summer childcare are vast, with very little support, for parents like me. (Edited to help maintain my child’s privacy)
This. There is exactly ONE camp within a 30 minute minutes commute of my house that offers supplemental support for kids with disabilities. (And of course they closed their convenient location and the remaining location is chockablock with unavoidable transitions onto and off of the bus. Exactly what I need.) I’m now in limbo waiting to see if one of the college kids they hire happens to be qualified/inclined to support my kid. Because the other choice is to send him to a “therapeutic” camp, and those run for even less time AND two of the three somewhat near us are hard nos because of their “autism is bad” attitude. But if we don’t send him somewhere for at least some of the summer, he’ll be back to pandemic levels of isolation. Argh.
This is so real. We experienced multiple times finding camps that were great for my kid’s interests, but terrible for handling even very mild divergences. Not to mention unable to address bullying or bias among (young) adult caregivers. Summer camp - so expensive, and such low quality!
I was romanticizing long summer vacations of my childhood and when it was offered when she was you her I’d refused it 🤦🏻♀️. But the programs have ways of making it FEEL more summer camp ish. And we still took out vacations.
I’m looking forward to it for you too and I hope you folks find good fits and more support soon.
I'm so worried about this--I have a 5 year old who is starting kindergarten this fall. His PreK program told me they couldn't handle him and I had to find a new spot for him. He still doesn't have a diagnosis so not sure entirely how to even explain his needs to the camp. On the one hand, maybe it was just a bad preK fit? On the other hand, how do I prepare him? Plus the investment in camp...
I also had my child leave a prep program because of fit. I totally understand and empathize with your concerns. It is so so hard but we have found certain ways to help plan. Trying to maintain routine in the summer to the degree possible (eg. No change in bedtime, pack the same foods, keep the same wind down schedule etc). Think about your kids triggers and how they manifest and then see if you can find camps that won’t include these. As an example, I enrolled my son in a bunch of sports camps because he’s athletic and loves to run around. BUT he could not handle the competition aspect and these almost always blew up, sometimes spectacularly. What has worked are camps where he may not have a real interest in the ‘theme’ but that are guaranteed not to include triggers. Examples are art and photography, nature. The actives include ZERO competitive elements or opportunities for conflict and he’s actually found them really relaxing and restful.
As the parent of a neurodivergent child, thank you for acknowledging the added complexity of scheduling and then managing summer plans for these kids. I cannot tell you the stress of waiting for the phone to ring from camp because I need to pick them up after a meltdown. These calls come and then, by day three of a five day camp, they are not invited back because it is ‘not the right fit’. To be clear, I do not blame the camps - they’re staffed with high school kids and college students and they are likely not equipped to deal with some of the challenges my child presents in a group environment. But paying $500 for them to attend a camp for 5 days and receiving only 3 days of care? Well it sucks and there’s a lot of (misplaced) shame and embarrassment afterward. Thankfully, these calls are coming less and less as we have found great camps for them and they have been better able to manage changes in routine. But the problems of summer childcare are vast, with very little support, for parents like me. (Edited to help maintain my child’s privacy)
This. There is exactly ONE camp within a 30 minute minutes commute of my house that offers supplemental support for kids with disabilities. (And of course they closed their convenient location and the remaining location is chockablock with unavoidable transitions onto and off of the bus. Exactly what I need.) I’m now in limbo waiting to see if one of the college kids they hire happens to be qualified/inclined to support my kid. Because the other choice is to send him to a “therapeutic” camp, and those run for even less time AND two of the three somewhat near us are hard nos because of their “autism is bad” attitude. But if we don’t send him somewhere for at least some of the summer, he’ll be back to pandemic levels of isolation. Argh.
As an autistic adult I HATE these camps on your behalf!!!
This is so real. We experienced multiple times finding camps that were great for my kid’s interests, but terrible for handling even very mild divergences. Not to mention unable to address bullying or bias among (young) adult caregivers. Summer camp - so expensive, and such low quality!
Uggghhh yes this brought me back.
One summer we jumped through all kinds of hoops to get our daughter into a well respected camp for kids on the spectrum.
We got asked to leave!
Also—she hated it! They were so rigid.
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this.
By the time she hit middle school her school placements went year round and although I resisted that idea initially it actually was a huge gift.
It's so tough when they are young and you are piecing together support. I look forward to when he has round the year support :)
It makes a huge difference.
I was romanticizing long summer vacations of my childhood and when it was offered when she was you her I’d refused it 🤦🏻♀️. But the programs have ways of making it FEEL more summer camp ish. And we still took out vacations.
I’m looking forward to it for you too and I hope you folks find good fits and more support soon.
I'm so worried about this--I have a 5 year old who is starting kindergarten this fall. His PreK program told me they couldn't handle him and I had to find a new spot for him. He still doesn't have a diagnosis so not sure entirely how to even explain his needs to the camp. On the one hand, maybe it was just a bad preK fit? On the other hand, how do I prepare him? Plus the investment in camp...
I also had my child leave a prep program because of fit. I totally understand and empathize with your concerns. It is so so hard but we have found certain ways to help plan. Trying to maintain routine in the summer to the degree possible (eg. No change in bedtime, pack the same foods, keep the same wind down schedule etc). Think about your kids triggers and how they manifest and then see if you can find camps that won’t include these. As an example, I enrolled my son in a bunch of sports camps because he’s athletic and loves to run around. BUT he could not handle the competition aspect and these almost always blew up, sometimes spectacularly. What has worked are camps where he may not have a real interest in the ‘theme’ but that are guaranteed not to include triggers. Examples are art and photography, nature. The actives include ZERO competitive elements or opportunities for conflict and he’s actually found them really relaxing and restful.
thank you so much for this! I'm sorry I just saw it but its helpful to hear from others who've been there!