summer camps

Post Reply New Topic

Can anyone reccommend a good camp that helps 13 year olds socialize and work in small groups.
My grandson has aspergers and needs to be prodded to socialize. He is missing many skills in this area. he would like to spend his summer in his room with his computer and xbox.
We know he needs to get far away from these things and experience the world and interact with others.

We would appreciate names of camps and your child's experience.

thanks for your help

To answer this, we need to know the general area of where you live, and if your grandson can function in mainstream settings.

Our 13 year old son will be doing Boy Scout and tech / programming camps this summer. If they follow their interests, they will meet like minded kids, and being with like minded kids is more likely to lead to productive social interaction. And, well, when they follow their interests, they have a great time

I must warn you, however, tech / programming camp is very expensive. We're looking at it is an education investment. Part of our son's eventual professional training.

Hmm, Xbox and computer for summer vacation. Sounds like my summer vacations growing up, except I had a play station instead of an Xbox. But yeah, wonderful summers, really enjoyed them. Why do you feel as though this is a bad thing?

We have not done an overnight camp, but have done several day camps with varying degrees of success. Last year, for the first time we chose to do no camp. My boys really didn't want to go, and we found that they needed lots of downtime to recuperate after a long and gruelling school year. Together we made a list of "50 things to do this summer", and had a great summer trying some new things at their pace. They also attended a social skills group every afternoon for a week, which they ended up really liking. This year they have also asked not to go to a camp, so we will be doing swimming lessons (1hr per day for 2 weeks), social skills group (4-5 afternoons), as well as a family road trip, a handful of playdates, lots of outings to the museum/science centre/planetarium and a variety of other activities and outings that they enjoy.

If your grandson doesn't want to go to a camp, I certainly wouldn't just plunk him into one (especially an overnight camp!). Maybe you could work together to find a balance for the summer that respects his need for downtime (computer & xbox probably serves an important purpose for him in helping him unwind), and the need that you see for him to practice some social skills and experience life beyond his bedroom. Just remember that if he attends a brick and mortar school throughout the year, he may really need to recuperate over the summer rather than to be pushed too much.

I second the idea of a tech camp. My son went for a week of ID Tech Camp. They have them at University campuses typically. It is BEYOND pricey but we splurged and he had a great time. He has never enjoyed any other camp as much. In the past, he would have a good time somewhere but then something would happen socially and it would all be ruined. Not worth it, in my honest opinion. The goal is to make your child happy. If they're happy, they're more likely to socialize. I understand the desire for social groups. Some states have summer camps specifically for AS but those are rare and often times involve a sleep away factor, which isn't for everyone.

I second the idea of a tech camp. My son went for a week of ID Tech Camp. They have them at University campuses typically. It is BEYOND pricey but we splurged and he had a great time. He has never enjoyed any other camp as much. In the past, he would have a good time somewhere but then something would happen socially and it would all be ruined. Not worth it, in my honest opinion. The goal is to make your child happy. If they're happy, they're more likely to socialize. I understand the desire for social groups. Some states have summer camps specifically for AS but those are rare and often times involve a sleep away factor, which isn't for everyone.

I LOVE annotated Alice's idea of a list of 50 things. I may have to steal that one. I also second her point that if a child really does not want to do something (as opposed to be being anxious about it but still wanting to do it... which requires a bit of a different approach) then they should not be forced. And sleep away camp is a huge milestone for even a typical child who's a day camp veteran, let alone a spectrum child who is not. So I would put that on the back burner unless he shows interest in it.

My son loves day camp (although by the end of the week he does begin to tire of it - likely because of the heavy social demands) so we send him for spring break and a few weeks in the summer to our local museum day camp. He has been going for so many years now, that he feels very safe and familiar with the surroundings and staff, plus I think they are pretty used to kids on the high functioning end of the spectrum so my son's behaviours don't really phase them.

How about finding a list of activities/day camps/outings in your area, and sitting down with him to make a list of ones he is interested in? Then go from there.

Check with the Easter Seals Program in your state. I know the state we live in the Easter Seals group has a week long camp for kids on the spectrum. My son went one year and he had a blast.

I'm contributing because Caitlin told me I need to contribute more. Thanks a lot Caitlin

So, if a 13 year old has never been to summer camp before, I think 13 is too old to force into a summer camp experience. With my son, he's been going to camp since he was very young. First day camp, and later sleep-away camp. Because of this approach, we had many experiences to work through and learn from. It was kind of a progression from "summer camp light" to more intense summer camp experiences.

There is an excellent summer camp program for adolescents in the Denver area called "West Star Wilderness" that works on socialization, self-discovery, personal growth, and teamwork. My son went on several of their trips for three years in a row, he had a wonderful time, and it helped him tremendously. I highly recommend their programs. You can learn more here: http://weststarwilderness.com/

Best of luck!

I dunno, are you sure you want to go straight to overnight, outside? That sounds like something that could be outright traumatic for a kid who's never even camped in the backyard. I'd go for something that's more along the lines of his interests, personally. If you want to learn to socialize, you have to be enough within your own comfort zone that you have mental resources left over to reach out with. You can't just dump the kid into the deep end of the pool (so to speak)--he'll just freeze and sink instead of swimming.