OPINION -- As a parent of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome I am always looking for ways to help my son connect with his peers and feel included in his social circle. When children are little, it is not much of an issue because all kids are learning to be social. As they get older it became harder for them, and they often began to isolate themselves from their peers. They often do not feel successful in social situations so the avoid them.
When I began to work with other children on the autism spectrum, I began to see similarities among many of the kids. Around third or fourth grade something changes socially, and many of the kids with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) start to struggle. The social rules change and they have a harder time fitting in. This can cause anxiety, depression, and social isolation in many kids with ASD.
As children, both my husband and I went to summer camp every summer. If you have ever been to summer camp you know that it is a special kind of experience that is not matched in any other setting. By the end of a week at camp deep friendships are formed and you leave with a sense of pride and independence. This is an experience we want for all of our children.
When we started looking for an overnight summer camp experience for our son with ASD, we quickly found a lack of available programs to meet his needs. We found some wonderful one-on-one camps, and some great typical camps. What we were looking for is a camp with structure and staff that understand the needs of a camper with ASD, but also allowed for independence. It was also important to us that our son meet other campers that he felt like he fit in with. The closest camp we found that fit our needs was in Minnesota. We started making plans to go, but at $1700 for a week at camp we quickly abandoned that idea.
That is when we decided that if this was a need for our family, there must be other families with the same need- and so Camp Odakoda was born. We decided to put on a camp for kids 10-18 years old with High Functioning Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome. That first year we started with 30 kids and it was life changing for us as well as many of the campers and staff.
We decided that our number one goal was (and is) to provide a typical camp experience. We do not do therapy, we just have fun! Many therapeutic things come out of the program like friendship building and social awareness. There is also a since of confidence that grows from this independent experience. Many of these campers have never been away from home before coming for 4 nights to Camp Odakoda.
When a child with ASD goes to a typical summer camp, the measure of success is usually whether they were sent home or not. Due to their rigid thinking, need for structure and routine, this is not always a supportive environment.
At Camp Odakoda we measure success by how many friendships were formed, how much fun the kids had, how confident the campers feel, and by seeing the strength of the campers when they realize they are not alone.
If I have learned anything from this experience, it is that these are amazing kids. They are kind, thoughtful, loyal and funny. They work so hard to fit into what we as a society say is “normal”. They each have such great strengths and when they are in an environment that is structured for their needs they thrive. They are kids, and they want to have fun, go swimming, canoeing, fishing, and hiking. They love the talent show and are so talented in so many areas. They teach us to see things differently and to be more understanding of others. We are blessed to be able to work with these kids and to learn so much from their perspective.
It’s not very often that we set out to make a difference, and then see the results so quickly. The group of volunteers that came together consisted of friends, family, co-workers, and perfect strangers. Regardless of whether we had many years of experience or this was a first time working with kids, we all shared the common thread of caring about these kids, which is the foundation for success.
By taking a chance and donating time, energy, patience, and great attitudes, each one of the counselors and volunteers made a very important difference in the lives of many kids. For each who volunteered, 2 kids got to enjoy 5 days at a place where everything and everyone fit into their box, instead of them trying to fit in everyone else’s.
What did we all accomplish?
• An experience designed for them:
“Unless you knew what to look for, you wouldn’t have thought most of these kids were on the spectrum” – Day volunteer
• A successful friendship opportunity:
“He has a new confidence about him, just in time for school” - Parent
• An environment where they could be themselves – with no worry about being teased by peers or corrected by adults:
“[People] don’t respect me like you do here” - Camper
• Most importantly, the realization that these kids are not alone – there is a place where they fit in perfectly:
- “I never knew there were other cheeseburgers, an nicer way to say Asperger’s” - Camper
As a parent, our hopes for all of our children – regardless of what they are working on - aren’t centered on finding a great job, or being the most popular, or being the best spelunker (or whatever). Our hopes are for our children to love and be loved- to find a place where they belong. We spend a lot of time hoping that our children can find a place where they fit in, and often wonder if that place exists. We worry that our kids feel the same way, and are heartbroken when we see they do.
Most parents shared that they hoped their child could make a friend at camp, or to be at a place where they weren’t sent home or in trouble most of the time. Words cannot describe the relief it is to know that a place does exist for our children, even for just 5 days. The ability to remind our son that there was an entire camp filled with kids just like him, and that he is not alone, is such a powerful thing for his self-esteem and helps meet his longing to be a part of a community.
We are in our 6th year of Camp Odakoda and had 85 campers! There is a need, and we are so excited to be able to fill that need with our program.
http://www.harvesthustle5k.org/
