CAMP OPENS SILENT WORLD OF AUTISTIC KIDS
Posted: Monday, August 13, 2007 3:21 PM by Petra Cahill
By Hilary Guy, Associate Producer
I grew up in a family of special education teachers. My mom and twin sister work with children with special needs and a variety of disabilities everyday. Many of their students are autistic. However, I never spent very much time around autistic children ... until I spent a day at "Kids for Camp," a day camp for children with autism in Pensacola, Fla.
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| Photo by Hilary Guy |
| NBC's Lisa Daniels interacts with a camper and a hungry alligator. |
Children with autism have a range of needs, and so the traditional summer camp experience is one that they often are forced to miss out on. According to the CDC, over 300,000 children in the United States are living with autism, and for most of these children, they will never be able to experience the classic summer joys of arts and crafts and canoeing in a typical summer camp environment.
As soon as Lisa Daniels and I set foot in the sun-splashed halls of Holm Elementary School -- where the kids were "camping" out -- we heard the laughter and saw smiles. Even more, we heard children's voices. One of main goals of "Kids for Camp" is to penetrate the silent worlds of many of the campers.
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| Photo by Hilary Guy |
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In the "motor room," campers play on swings and trampolines as part of their educational therapy. |
Upon on our arrival, we saw a mom dropping off her little boy for a day of camp. Mother and son were parting for the day, and there were tears. Laura Scott told us that her Nicholas is severely autistic and non-verbal. "If I would let him go a couple weeks in the summertime, he loses a lot of what he's learned," she said, fighting back tears.
Five minutes later, Nicholas was smiling and interacting with his camp counselor. Gone are the tears. Only smiles. And perhaps one day words.
One of the truly special aspects of this program is that the whole Pensacola Bay Area community gets involved to help these children experience summer camp. Like most camps, Kids for Camp is quite pricey -- costing approximately $3,000 per child. But thanks to an "amazing and generous community," 80 percent of the cost for each child is covered this summer. In fact, five children are even able to attend tuition-free.
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| Photo by Hilary Guy |
| Swimming is one of the many traditional summer camp activities that campers with autism also enjoy. |
As a day at "Kids for Camp" came to a close, the impact of just a few hours of fun and educational therapy was evident on every camper's face. I had gained a new respect for the counselors and teachers, and a new understanding of the often hard-to-reach children living with autism.
Everyone walked away with a smile. Especially us.
Watch community members and camp administrators talk about the camp.You can see the full report on tonight's broadcast.
For more information on the camp, visit
http://www.autismpensacola.org or e-mail: autismpensacola@bellsouth.net
