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 and 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. 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 including 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 27 campers, 45 counselors, and provided respite to 22 families.
37 Satisfaction surveys filled out. Their response is, "I am satisfied with the services received during this event."
29 Strongly agreed
8 Agreed
What did you like most about Camp LIFE?
Parents:
A great opportunity for taking a respite, knowing that our son was safe and having a great time. There are not enough programs that can handle severe behaviors. You did a great job with our son.
Girls thoroughly enjoyed - especially that siblings could attend!
My son always has so much fun, and the counselors are so wonderful
My son got to get out of the city to a safe place and have fun with new people
Not only is it respite for families but it's a fun , safe, engaging environment for campers.
My kids absolutely love this camp! Get a chance to interact with peers and be independent
Counselors:
The support other counselors provided for each other and the training from the staff was very helpful.
I found the event to be really helpful in increasing my knowledge and experience in interacting with people with disabilities.
I found having a partner counselor very helpful as we got to collaborate and problem solve together.
Seeing campers enjoy activities and being with friends
Camp LIFE Video:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LkI06t3xEnKblIw3wGTqoHp4uLxJH2VA/view?usp=sharing
Keyword(s):
Mental/Behavioral Health – Autism, Developmental Disabilities, Mental/Behavioral Health – General , Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Special Health Care Needs, Family involvement, advocacy, community integration, Recreation
Target Audience:
Community Trainees / Short term trainees, Family Members/Caregivers, Adults with Disabilities, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
