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heartspring.org: Camp SSTAR

We’re gearing up for the 2nd annual Camp SSTAR!  We look forward to expanding the program to include additional activities and increased opportunities to learn, grow, and create lasting friendships.  Camp SSTAR was developed to provide children with Asperger syndrome and high- functioning autism an environment that delivered a “scouting” experience like other camps.  What makes Camp SSTAR unique is that it delivers a fun and engaging camp experience that is the catalyst for deeper understanding of social situations, communication, and the value of friendship.
Visit the Camp SSTAR website at http://www.heartspring.org/care/campsstar/ to see some of the amazing achievements of last year’s campers!
Going to camp is a summer ritual for many children and young adults packed with activities that require social skills that make it a truly memorable experience.  For children with autism spectrum disorders this can be painful as activities like these tend to magnify their social difficulties.  Camp SSTAR 2009 offers campers a unique, fun and engaging experience while delivering additional tools they can practice and then use to navigate through a very social world. 

Apply online now!  Please complete the online application form or print the PDF version. You can return the application to Connie Coulter at ccoulter@heartspring.org or by mail at Heartspring ATTN Connie Coulter, 8700 East 29th St. North, Wichita, Kansas 67226. 

Applications must be received by May 1, 2009.

******All Applications will be screened for acceptance******
Acceptance to Camp SSTAR will not be based soley on a “first come, first served” basis.  Other considerations include: the availability of slots, the best available candidate (i.e. match)  for a particular group or activities, the identified need as expressed by the parent specific to social skills deficits and challenges, and the sincere desire of the child to attend Camp SSTAR. 

Camp SSTAR 2009 will be a one week camp, however, it will take place over a period of three weeks. Campers will attend ONE of the three weeks of Camp SSTAR.  Each week is designed for a specific age group and will allow for planning of additional activities, as well as more space to accommodate a larger number of campers in each age group for their specific week.

The Apprentice Group
Dates:June 8th-12th
Age:13-21
Time:June 8: check in at 8:00 - 9:00 am
June 8-12: day camp, 9:00 am - 1:30 pm
Cost:$150.00

 

The Reporter Group
Dates:June 15th-19th
Age:4-6
Time:June 15: check in at 8:00 - 9:00 am
June 15-19: day camp, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Cost:$125.00

 

The Producer & Editor Group
Dates:June 22nd-26th
Age:7-13
Time:June 22: check in at 8:00 - 9:00 am
June 22-26: day camp, 9:00 am - 1:30 pm
Cost:$150.00

Scholarships are Available

Outpatient Program Helps Youths with Cerebral Palsy, Brain Injuries

Link: Program

Under a sultry summer sun, a miniature golf course can test anyone's patience, but for the children who played at ParTee Golf in Perry Hall yesterday, sinking a putt marked a particular challenge. Some of them maneuvered walkers around the bridges and fountains of the course; others rolled along the greens in motorized wheelchairs. Some of the children, who are taking part in a program at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, were born with cerebral palsy, and others had suffered head injuries in accidents.

Easter Seals: Selecting an Accessible Camp

Link: Easter Seals

Parents may have questions and concerns about sending a child to camp for the first time, particularly a child with special needs. Will my child be able to handle being away from home? How can my child possibly participate in activities like white water rafting and tree climbing with his disability? Are these activities really safe? Is the camp staff really qualified to provide my child with the care he needs?

washingtonpost.com: Young Campers Sail Against the Wind

Link: washingtonpost.com
Tim Hodge's long red hair blows away from his freckled face as he works the sail on a 14-foot boat on the St. Mary's River. His eyes gaze intently up at the sail while fellow sailor Tobin Cooper steers.
It's not the kind of focus one would expect from a 13-year-old with an attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

BostonHerald.com: Happy campers: Kids strive, thrive in Shriver program

Link: BostonHerald.com
Today Daniel Boggie, 12, is just a camper, but his new friends insist he should be a mayor.
“Mostly all the campers are my friends. I’m nice so everyone just loves me. They say that I should be a mayor,” said a beaming Daniel, of West Roxbury, who just completed his first summer at Camp Shriver at UMass-Boston.
The innovative camp, founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1962, integrates young campers with intellectual disabilities and kids without such learning needs.

When the Child with Special Needs Goes Off to Summer Camp

Link: Summer Camp

Camping can be a positive, constructive and enjoyable experience for kids with learning problems. They can make new friends in a recreational setting unencumbered by their daily academic challenges. They get a fresh start…away from their classmates who may view them as "different" or "strange". But the child's departure for camp also proves you and your family a bit of respite. The child with special needs should not be viewed as a "burden" for a family. But, candidly, he may occupy a disproportionate amount of the parents' time, energy and resources.

Ned Hallowell Summer Enrichment Camp 2007

Link: http://leelanau.org/
The Leelanau School is the experience-based, five-senses learning community where students in grades 9 through 12 live and discover together on Lake Michigan’s wooded shore. We build on each student’s learning strengths, creatively using hands-on projects and our dramatic natural setting to help students gain a fresh new sense of independence, engagement, and capability.

Montana Learning Center

Link: Excellent educational environment for all ages
The Montana Learning Center at Canyon Ferry Lake is the premier location for statewide mathematics and science education in Montana . In addition to our advocate programs for the environment, informal science and math, we offer a host of intensive on-site camp and real life experiences in science and mathematics. Come learn with us - make some life-long friends who will help us make Montana a better place for the future generations!

Dimensions Kids Camp

Established in 2002, Dimensions Achievements in Therapy offers comprehensive diagnostic services and treatment for individuals with communication challenges, oral-motor dysfunction and feeding disorders. The day camp is run by licensed occupational, speech and physical therapists in collaboration with teachers specializing in pediatrics, and is accredited by the American Camping Association.

Dimensions Kids Camp provides its campers with a distinctive format that is designed to promote creativity, enhance socialization and language, encourage cognitive skill development, improve motor and perceptual skill development, and to promote self-esteem. All campers participate in a variety of activities including horse-assisted activities, aquatics, arts and crafts, cooking, music therapy, interactive sports, and weekly field trips.

To learn more about this program, please contact:
Dimensions Achievements in Therapy
Aventura Office
20704 West Dixie Highway
Aventura, Florida 33180
Main Office: 305.933.5887
Fax: 305.933.8991
http://www.dimensionstherapy.com/camp.html

Directories of Special Needs Camps

Easter Seals: Nationwide Directory of Day and Residential Camps
Easter Seals offers camping and recreation programs for children, adults and families of all abilities. This directory includes day and residential camps nationwide along with the corresponding contact information.
http://www.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=ntl_directory_camprec

CampResourses.com
This website facilitates a camp search by special needs category. The site’s “Canteen” feature connects the users to vendors specializing in camp-related needs.
http://www.campresource.com/camps/spec_needs_camps.cfm

Summer Camps for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University compiled this list of summer camps for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing. The list identifies camps, family learning vacations and remedial clinics. Some of the programs are designed for the entire family. The directory contains an updated list of camps and programs available for summer 2007.
http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/InfoToGo/142.html

SchwabLearning: Camps for Individuals with Learning Disabilities and/or ADD/ADHD
SchwabLearning provides a list of summer camps for individuals with learning disabilities or ADD/ADHD. A state-by-state search mechanism is available.
http://www.schwablearning.org/camp/index.asp