Your Child's Right to Attend Summer Camp

By Kim Davis

 

Families of children with an autism spectrum disorder are often faced with the dilemma of what to do over the summer. Where can my child go? What can my child do? The answer is... just about anything, anywhere.

 

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gives civil rights protection to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and federal government services, and telecommunications.

 

Furthermore, public accommodations, including child-care centers, private schools, recreation centers, restaurants, hotels, movie theaters and banks, must comply with Title III of the ADA.

 

Children with autism spectrum disorders can succeed at regular camps provided the staff is open and willing to receive some basic training. Often, a general overview about autism, along with some information about teaching strategies, can provide the staff with enough information to begin including these children. Sharing information with camp staff about the strengths, preferences, and interests of your child allows them to focus on her abilities rather than her challenges. If staff members only hear about the challenging behaviors, it could create a bias in their minds about your child, which in turn could work against your child.

 

The same requirements that apply to child-care centers apply to recreation programs and camps since they are also considered "public accommodations." Below are the basic requirements of Title III related to public accommodations. (Centers in this article refer to all public accommodations, including camps and recreation programs.)

 

Centers cannot exclude children with disabilities unless their presence would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or require fundamental alterations to the program.

 

Centers have to make reasonable modifications to their policies and practices to integrate children with disabilities, parents and guardians into their program, unless doing so would require fundamental alterations.

 

Centers must provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services needed for effective communication with children or adults with disabilities unless doing so would constitute an undue burden.

 

Centers must generally make their facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. Existing facilities are subject to the readily achievable standard for barrier removal, while newly-constructed facilities and any altered portions of existing facilities must be made fully accessible.

 

Program directors cannot assume that a child's disabilities are too severe for the child to be successfully integrated into the program. An individualized assessment must be made to determine if the particular needs of the child can be met without fundamentally altering the program. In making this assessment, program providers must not react to unfounded preconceptions or stereotypes about what children with disabilities can or cannot do, or how much assistance they require. This may mean gathering information from the parents, guardians, or the child to figure out the best options for the individual.

 

Children who have challenging behaviors are especially difficult to support. Some programs want to expel children who hit or bite others. The ADA suggests that the program first work with the parents to see if there are reasonable ways of curbing the child's behavior. They may need extra naps, more instruction, or changes in diet or medication. If reasonable efforts have been made, but the child continues the challenging behaviors, then he may be expelled from the program despite having a disability. The ADA does not require providers to take any action that would pose a direct threat - a substantial risk of serious harm - to the health or safety of others. It should be noted that each child is unique; simply because one child with a specific diagnosis acts in challenging ways does not mean that other children with the same diagnosis will act in the same manner. That would be discriminatory.

 

The ADA applies to children who are on medication, are not toilet trained, have life-threatening allergies, diabetes or other disabilities. These factors cannot be reasons for excluding anyone. Educating caregivers and disseminating information to the public are effective ways to help people overcome their fears and feel more comfortable with children with disabilities.

 

Title III also addresses playgrounds: Even if programs do not presently have children with disabilities enrolled, they have the ongoing obligation to remove structural barriers to promote access. Architectural barriers that limit the participation of children with disabilities must be removed if it can be done without too much effort or expense.

 

Activities may be adapted or modified to promote your child's successful involvement at any camp. ADA is in place to ensure that accommodations are made everywhere, including camps.

 

Parents and camp representatives should communicate to ensure the following accommodations are available for the child:

 

Provide routines that are somewhat consistent. Each day has scheduled activities. Be sure routines are explained to the child on a daily basis. Familiarity comforts the child and lessens anxiety.

 

Present visual schedules to help the individual understand the routine. A visual schedule of the day's events can help the camper know what to expect as the day progresses. For example, write out, or have pictures of, the various activity sites and put them on a schedule board using Velcro. As the camper moves through the day, the activities can be removed from the board so he knows what has been done and what is coming up next.

 

Warn of any transitions or changes. Using the visual schedule, point out the next activity and tell the camper what will be happening next. Because transitioning is challenging for children in the spectrum, the child should be given ample time to process information about any changes in the schedule in order to prepare himself for it.

 

 

Consistently use the child's communication system. Communication is critical for everyone. If a student comes with any form of augmentative communication, such as picture boards, signing, facilitated communication, written language, etc., staff should learn how to use that system. The camper's communication system should always be available to him, and he should be encouraged to use it throughout the day. State limits, boundaries and rules to provide clear and the camper consistent expectations.

 

 

Any boundaries, rules, or limits should be made clear to each camper by using his visual schedule board, communication system, or any other means. By telling the camper how long they will be in the canoe, how many campfire songs they will sing, or how many pine cones to glue on the cardboard, the camper will know what to expect, thus limiting the likelihood of misunderstandings.

 

Finally, camp representatives should consider the following when designing accommodations around specific activities.

 

Amount and type of materials that are preferred by the individual: Does the camper prefer crayons or colored pencils? Will 10 colors be used for the art project or three? Will the colors be in paint, pencil or chalk? What type of paper does the camper prefer?

 

 

How instructions are given to the individual: Are verbal instructions enough, or does the camper need visual cues through writing, pictures, or models? Does the camper need physical assistance to begin?

 

The level of participation one should expect: Will the camper participate in the full 30 minutes of the swimming lesson or only be required to be there for 10 minutes? What alternative is there if choosing to leave? Can the camper be on the basketball court with his team and run up and down the court without handling the ball? Can the camper choose to sit with a group for activities that are too challenging?

 

How much support is required: Is adult assistance needed? Can peers offer more natural support throughout the day? If peers offer support, they should in turn have additional support offered to them.

 

There is no magic answer. But following these general guidelines in making accommodations at camp can work toward making it a positive experience for your child. It is important for staff members to get to know each camper.

 

Parents can help them learn the positive aspects of their child: what reinforces him, what his interests are, what his strengths are, as well as other issues that may arise at camp. Help them to understand the strategies that calm your child, or what to do when your son or daughter is having a difficult time. The best thing you can do is to communicate openly with the staff well ahead of time. The more people know, the less they will fear.

 

As many of us have learned, there really is nothing to fear, just a lot to understand.

 

Kim Davis is an Educational Consultant at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community located at Indiana University, Bloomington. Her areas of expertise and interest include positive behavior supports, teaching strategies, circles of support, and providing better support on behalf of individuals across the autism spectrum.

 

Davis also provides training on the value of motor activities for all young children, the link between behavior and communication, and community inclusion through leisure activities. She presents at local, state, and national conferences and workshops.

 

Resources

KidsCamps.com features search engine for camps for individuals with special needs in categories including Aspergers/autism, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, social skills, and speech/hearing impairments.

 

Will Moore offers an exhaustive state-by-state list of Therapy/Respite Camps for Kids at WMoore.net. Moore, a political science Professor at Florida University and parent of a child with autism, created the page after exhausting his own search for qualified camp resources for his family. Featured listings/links are broken into national and regional categories in the U.S.

 

Services offered through the Aspen Education Group include summer camps for children with ADHD, Asperger's/Autism, and other emotional or behavioral issues. Its web site, features state-by-state search engine/listings. Toll Free: (888) 972-7736.

 

The Autism Society America's North Carolina chapter offers a residential summer camp for individuals with autism, ages four to adult. The program provides a week of typical camp activities, such as swimming, hiking, boating, and arts & crafts, in a structured environment with intense supervision; many counselors are assigned only one camper per week to ensure maximum attention.