Tag: camp
Autism-Summer: Ohio Buckeyes teach children with autism football skills | NBC 4i
NBC4
GROVE CITY, Ohio — Though most football camps are already over, there was just one more in Grove City for a very unique group of young athletes.
High School players as well as Buckeyes past and present shared the football experience with children with Autism.
The young players got to suit up in pads and helmets. They were eager to learn the basics of football including ball carry, how to be a quarterback, running back and defensive stations.
The children got to learn from all star coaches from the NFL and former Buckeye players.
via All-Star Coaches Teach Children With Autism Football Skills | NBC 4i.
Posted on August 23, 2010 | 1 Comment | Category: Autism | Tags: athletes, Autism, Autism Summer, camp, children with Autism, sports
Autism Summer: Inclusion’s the game at Camp Shriver in Boston
Boston Herald
Some autism summer camps are for autistic children only. Some, like Camp Shriver in Boston, mix kids with and without autism and other disabilities.
Forty-plus years ago, the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver started an inclusive camp in her backyard. It grew into the Special Olympics!
At Camp Shriver everyone fits in – even the Kennedys .
“Everyone treats us the same,” said Kyra Kennedy, 14, the granddaughter of Robert F. and daughter of Robert F. Jr. “It was nice.”
Kyra was one of three Kennedy family offspring working this summer at the sports camp at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, a spinoff of the one started in 1962 by Kennedy’s great-aunt Eunice Kennedy Shriver, to serve children both with and without disabilities. Eunice and Francesca “Chessy” Shriver, Eunice Shiver’s granddaughters, also spent their July on the Boston campus.
via Inclusion’s the game at Shriver camp – BostonHerald.com.
Posted on August 5, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Autism | Tags: Autism, Autism Summer, camp, children with Autism, Massachusetts
Summer Autism: Puppy camp lets autistic children learn about dogs
Democrat & Chronicle
Children with autism often make a connection with animals – especially dogs. A camp near Rochester, N.Y., lets children with autism and other developmental disabilities, as well as neurotypical children, learn about brand new puppies. The camp is run by a married couple who breed Labrador retrievers, and the wife in that couple is an autism specialist at a local school district.
SPENCERPORT — Lauren Erlichman and Martin Yesowitch might not have spent their wedding anniversary how they expected this year, but the date was memorable nonetheless.
The Canal Road couple, who tied the knot on July 7, 2007, breeds Labrador retrievers. Their canine companions made sure their anniversary was extra special — and numerically aligned.
“We had our litter this week — seven puppies on 7/7,” Yesowitch says. That was just days after helping their 4-year-old dog, Macie, deliver her pups. “We got married on 7/7/07, and we had seven puppies on the 7th with our first puppy.”
That’s pretty amazing. Then again, so is the work that Erlichman and Yesowitch do.
For the second year, the couple is running the Labs of Love Puppy Camp for children ages 7 to 15. Kids learn about training and feeding dogs, as well as health issues, caring for the animals and running a kennel.
Some children learn even more valuable lessons.
Many kids in the week-long sessions have developmental disabilities such as autism, and Erlichman, an autism specialist with the Spencerport Central School District, said the puppies help those children socialize and become more confident.
“Animals speak a non-verbal language with people,” Erlichman says, paraphrasing Temple Grandin, a noted author and speaker who has autism and whose life story was detailed in an HBO movie named for her.
“There’s no talking back. They’re more in control,” she said.
via It’s pure puppy love at Spencerport summer camp | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle.
Posted on July 26, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Autism | Tags: animals, Autism, camp, children with Autism, Summer autism
Middle school student with Down syndrome to lead Buddy Walk in memory of camp counselors
Garden City News
Garden City, N.Y., seventh-grader Matthew Castellano will lead The National Down Syndrome Society Buddy Walk Sept. 25 that starts in New York’s Central Park. He’ll be with NDSS Ambassador John C. McGinley (from TV’s “Scrubs”), Chris Burke (from “Life Goes On), and others.
Matthew attends Camp Anchor, a Long Island town camp for youths and adults with a wide range of disabilities. Every camper at Camp Anchor (which stands for Answering the Needs of Citizens with Handicaps through Organized Recreation) has an individual counselor. Three young Anchor Camp counselors were killed in a car crash on their way to work July 15 — and Matthew and his group will be walking for them in the Buddy Walk.
Matthew and his group hope to raise $3,000 in the Buddy Walk.
The NDSS (National Down Syndrome Society) has chosen Matthew Castellano, to be this year’s “Self-Advocate Ambassador” for the New York City “Buddy Walk” in Central Park. Matthew is a 7th grader at the Garden City Middle School and attends Camp Anchor in Lido Beach, NY. Matthew and his team will be walking for his beloved camp Anchor staff counselors, Michael Mulhall, Jamie Malone and Paige Malone who were in a fatal car accident on July 15th, 2010 on their way to Camp Anchor. He will lead the walk along with celebrities, John C. McGinley from the TV show “Scrubs,” Chris Burke from the former TV show “Life Goes On” and several others. Together they will salute the amazing event participants who have raised money and awareness in support of individuals with Down Syndrome.
Help kickoff the NYC Buddy Walk in Times Square where 200 photos of individuals with Down Syndrome from all over the world were selected from thousands of photo submissions for the 2010 NDSS Times Square Video. The Times Square Video will be shown on the “MTV Plasma Screen.” NDSS will provide transportation from Times Square to the NYC Buddy Walk site at “The Great Hill” in Central Park.
via Middle School Student To Be “Self Advocate Ambassador” | www.gcnews.com | Garden City News.
Posted on July 23, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Down Syndrome | Tags: camp, celebrities, Down Syndrome, fundraising
Autism in Summer: For some, it’s time for camp
For a lot of kids, summertime means summer camp. In recent years, more children with autism have been getting in on the summer camp fun.
There are a variety of autism camps being held this summer. In Florida, Joey Travolta, (brother of John Travolta) runs a film camp for children with autism.
In North Carolina, Funshine Camp lets children and adults with autism and other disabilities enjoy the outdoors for four days at no cost (they bring caregivers).
In Wisconsin, the organizers at Camp Awesum say they try to provide a traditional summer camp experience but accommodate the needs of autistic children with things like special sensory areas.
My Summer Camps, a directory of summer camps around the country, has a list of camps for children and teenagers with autism and Asperger’s syndrome.
Here is Spirit of Autism’s list of questions to ask when looking at summer camps for your autistic child.
Is your child at camp this summer? How’s it going? Any tips to share on making the transition to camp?
Posted on June 29, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Autism, Caregiving | Tags: Asperger's, Autism, camp, summer, teens
