2016 TASH Conference

Summer camp is a crucial rite of passage in American culture. It is an opportunity to make new friends and deepen relationships. Frustratingly, many children living with disability are often excluded from summer camp options for a variety of reasons, including inadequate staffing and training, as well as simple scheduling conflicts between camp and summer school schedules. But what happens if you utilize a person-centered planning model to create and coordinate regularly-scheduled recreational activities throughout the summer? And what happens if you invite other children to join you? This presentation tells one family's story of how they utilized government funding, leveraged community-based assets, called on the skills and talents of their neighbors, and provided an inclusive camp environment that could nurture the gifts and talents of every child in their community. At the end of this session, participants will be able to: - identify 5 different resources in their respective (geographic) communities that can be utilized for summer camp activities - explain the significance of summer camp activities for sustaining and growing friendships between children living with and without disabilities - draft a plan for regularly scheduled summer activities that are based on a child's interests - identify staff and appropriate training for them to be successful in running these recreation activities - create and execute a plan for community outreach that involves local business owners, families in the school community, school staff, and other members of the geographic and cultural community