Project Description:
Camp LIFE (Leadership, Independence, and Friends through Experiences) accomplishes several goals. The first goal is to provide an integrated setting for children with disabilities to participate in a true camp experience. The children with disabilities and their non-disabled siblings, ages 6 to up, are placed into two groups designated by age. The campers are then paired with a counselor for the weekend. The campers engage in activities including swimming, canoeing, ropes course, horseback riding, fishing, archery, making S'mores, and more. The camping facility that Camp LIFE utilizes was designed and built for people with special needs and is a barrier-free facility. Camp LIFE has medical staff present for the duration of the camp.
A second priority of Camp LIFE is to provide parents with a weekend of respite. This is one reason why the non-disabled peers are invited to attend camp. Another reason siblings are encouraged to attend is to provide a more integrated environment for Camp LIFE and another is to provide the non-disabled peers a counselor/buddy for a weekend paying specific attention to them.
A third focus of Camp LIFE is to provide Texas A&M undergraduates an opportunity to experience what it is like to support a child with a disability. One meaningful change that was made this year was the inclusion of undergraduate students from diverse academic disciplines. Historically, the majority of camp counselors were undergraduate pre-service special educators acquiring field-based hours for university classes. Including undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds and academic programs as mentors provides a more robust learning opportunity for the campers due to the spectrum of experiences and knowledge bases of the camp counselors (undergraduates). It also provides an opportunity for Texas A&M University undergraduate students to work alongside and support individuals with disabilities - an opportunity that does not occur often for those outside the discipline of special education preservice preparation. Volunteers are also recruited from UTSA's BCBA Program. Aimee Day, Camp LIFE Program Manager has successfully recruited and trained 155 undergraduate Texas A&M students from various academic disciplines, including : Engineering, Business, Nursing, Accounting, Economics, Biology, Kinesiology, Clinical Psychology, Child Professional Services, School Health, Educational Psychology, and Special Education. The counselors are required to attend training on disability awareness, ethics and care, and person-centered practices prior to camp.
The camp served 54 campers, 51 counselors, and provided respite to 32 families respite.
Camp LIFE Video:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LkI06t3xEnKblIw3wGTqoHp4uLxJH2VA/view?usp=sharing
What did you like most about Camp LIFE?
Parents:
The confidence and experiences it gave my son after failed busy summer camps- he has so many memories to share!
Seeing my son excited and hearing that he participated fully.
My daughter gets to participate in an experience that neurotypical kids get to. Also, the respite time for us is great.
The excitement my son went to camp AND returned even MORE excited!
The opportunity for our camper to have a safe place to stay overnight independently and know that all her needs would be met.
My special needs son and his siblings LOVE Camp Life! Helps him learn and feel more independent, gain more social skills, and have a fun weekend.
Counselors:
I enjoyed watching the campers get to try new things and have awesome experiences! It was the best!
To be able to be with campers and interact with them.
I loved getting to spend time with the campers and giving their parents an opportunity to take a break.
The fact that every opportunity was optional for the campers, fun seems more encouraged that way.
Interacting with campers in a new environment and learning about basic needs caregivers provide on a daily basis
Keyword(s):
Family involvement, advocacy, community integration, Recreation
Target Audience:
Community Trainees / Short term trainees, Family Members/Caregivers, Adults with Disabilities, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Geographic Area - Other, Other
