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But as he got older, I realized that virtually ALL the day camp options available were for toddlers for for children ages 6-12. What in the world would he do when he turned 13?!
Now that we live at the shore, the options have broadened. In our area there are a wide range of small daycamps available for youth, tweens, and teens. There are "science" camps, music camps, and other programs that run just half a day, and we can buy in for just a week at a time. And now that Tom has matured, he no longer needs the kind of high-intensity support that was critical when he was a little one. What's more, of course, we have the beaches, the woods, and the harbor - what a great change for the better!
But what if you don't live at the shore? What if your teen with autism really needs solid support and structure, all day every day? Very few extended school programs offer that level of programming for the whole summer.
So - what will your teen with autism do this summer? What kinds of programs are available? What works well? And what do you wish you had available?
I wish there were ESY programs available for my two teens with autism that focus on lifeskills and social skills. Academic basics would probably get covered in the lifeskills/independent living skills and I think social skills are every bit as essential as academics in the real world.
We’ve been looking for a social skills group or class for my 13 year old son for more than 5 years, to no avail. I don’t know what I’m going to do with him throughout the summer. Last year when I kept him at home, he slid backward in social skills, and it really hurt him. I’m currently unemployed and hope to find a camp for him to attend this summer. I agree that social skills is very important to autistic children because they learn social skills the way we learn math and science. Much of their learning acceptable behaviors is through observation. Good luck with your search.
*CAMPING at every provincial campground we can get to like any other summer, *swimming at the lake,
*dirt-biking (riding along with someone as his tic disorder effects his balance too much and he cannot balance well enough),
*hiking,
*possible road trip with all 4 of the kids
*family reunion
*planning for cross Canada trip hopfeully for next summer
Cheers
Caroline