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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

billingsgazette.net: Inventor helps his wife to continue enjoying the slopes

Link: billingsgazette.net
In the obscure sport of skibobbing, Bob Kolesar is hoping to carve out a niche, however small.

"One of the things we're trying to convince people is that it's fun," he said. "That's one of the problems we have in marketing."

autism.healingthresholds.com: Morgan's Wonderland is a Playground in Texas that will Cater to Children with Disabilities

Link: autism.healingthresholds.com
Morgan's Wonderland, near San Antonio Texas, will be a free park/playground for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Along with swings and a lake for fishing, the park is developed specifically for children and developmentally disabled adults. There are family-friendly restrooms, kid-monitoring wristbands, and a sanctuary garden. Gordon Hartman, the man and money behind the park, is hopeful that he and the planners have considered all levels of abilities so that the park can be enjoyed by as many children as possible.

A Football Team Blended of the Deaf and the Hearing

The bass drum on the sideline would be the quarterback, they decided, a simplistic 'boom! boom! boom!' to signify the basic cadence of football: 'hut, hut, hike.' It made sense at the time, coaches admit everyone could hear the snap count, in his own way.
They look back at it now and smirk. Their 26 players - 11 deaf or hard of hearing - were more similar than different all along.

HelenaIR.com: Eagle Mount program provides hope

Link: Eagle Mount

Many of you may know Kevin Connolly, born and raised in Helena, or you’ve read about him in newspapers or magazines like Montana Quarterly or the Christian Science Monitor.

Maybe you’ve seen him on 20/20 or the X-Games, on the Camelbak Web site or in the Patagonia catalog.

Kalispell Rotary Club raising funds for accessible baseball/softball field

Link: http://www.themiraclefield.com/
Link: http://www.miracleleague.com/
The Kalispell Rotary Club is raising funds to pay for a rubber surface that will be installed on a baseball/softball field that is specially designed for youngsters with disabilities. The surface is similar to that found on state-of-the-art running tracks, which allows baselines, bases, etc. to be painted onto the surface. The idea is to create a surface that facilitates the challenges faced by youngsters in wheelchairs, using walkers or crutches, or for whom navigating without aid is difficult. The surface alone will cost approximately $170,000.00, and the completed field will cost over $350,000.00. Construction on the field began last fall and is scheduled for completion this coming summer. It will be the only facility of its kind in Montana.

WFSB.com: Families Fight Autism With Karate

Link: Eyewitness News 3

Weller Simmons has been taking karate classes at Villari's Studios in West Hartford since December. The 6-year-old's classes involve one-on-one training with his karate teacher.

Noreen Simmons said her autistic son, Weller, was brought to Villari's Studios to attend a birthday party of a classmate.

"We were kind of surprised to how well he seemed to like the karate," said Noreen Simmons, who said her son has problems communicating. "He likes to be around other kids but he really just doesn't know how to start talking to [them]."

Adaptive Controllers: Video Gaming Accessibility

Link: GimpGear
Broadened Horizons' clients often utilize power wheelchairs while struggling to use tools with buttons, levers, knobs, and handles in a world designed around manual dexterity. Opportunities for travel, communications, recreation, education, and employment are severely limited due to the additional complexity of meeting their needs. Those limited by quadriplegia or tetraplegia, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS find our solutions ideally suited to their needs. However our solutions can also greatly simplify the lives of those with less limitations also; such as paraplegics, those who have suffered a stroke, brain injury, spina bifida, or other disabling disease or injury.

BillingsGazette.com: Crossbow keeps Sheridan man hunting

Link: BillingsGazette.com
Mark Pixley's world was turned upside down in May 2004 when his vehicle spun out of control on an icy bridge on Interstate 90 near Wyoming's Lake DeSmet. Though Pixley was wearing his seat belt, the vehicle landed in such a way that the Sheridan man broke his spine. It became evident after awhile that he would never walk again and would only regain limited use of his hands and arms.

UM archer targets achievement despite disabilities

Link: Montana Kaimin
Never moving his eyes from the target, Danny Gundlach nocks an arrow to the bow tucked under his right arm, switches the bow to his left hand, and smoothly raises it to a steady aim. He reaches forward to draw back the bowstring, but rather than pinching it with his fingers, he grabs it with the inside corner of his elbow.

That is because Gundlach does not have fingers, or a hand or a forearm for that matter, on his right arm to grab the bowstring with. Yet with a subtle twist of his elbow, he lets fly the arrow and watches it pierce a hay bale 50 feet away.