Did you go to camp as a child?

Post Reply New Topic

And did you like it?

I'm visiting from the parenting board. One of the posters asked about a specific camp and that got me thinking.

My little Aspie has NO interest in camp. I figure school is stressful enough and he deserves the summers off. Am I looking at this wrong? Would he enjoy it once he got there?

I have some AS traits and I went to camp one year at his age (12 years old). It was okay once I got there but I don't think I enjoyed it all that much and certainly didn't learn anything.

How about you?
BeeBee

I went to summer camp from kindergarden to 6th grade. I generally had a great time, altough i experienced some bullying As far as whether you should send your child to camp or not, you should really see if he really wants to go to camp. Chances are if he won't enjoy himself he will be less likely to make friends. Their were alot of things I enjoyed about summer camp, and their were some things I didn't enjoy. One thing I didn;t like was arts and crafts, I thought it was boring. I enjoyed some sports, although I wasn't that good at them. We used to go swimming twice a day, I thought that was the best part of all. That is very true that school is a very stressful for an aspie cause of all the social interaction involved. However, if you'd like to get your child out of the house for the summer, look for camps that would pertain to his special interests, like a drama or music camp. He would be more likely to enjoy himself there since they all share the same interests, and he will be enjoying, therefore making more relaxed. hope this helps.

Camp and the events surrounding it may well have saved my life. It was one of the first chances I got to re-create myself outside of everybody's expectations (which included my family). I could experiment with a new and more open way of being, where previously I had been far too terrified of the attention I would draw from breaking pattern around people who already knew me. There was much less bullying and everyone was much more laid back than at school. The counsellors made sure everyone got accepted and had the chance to participate in activities, even the little girl doing her best to disappear. And the friendship I formed with one counsellor was one of my first friendships with a real-world person, and the first step towards breaking out of isolation.

I used to go to a local drama camp. I enjoyed because I got to do lighting (I was only 12) and other tech. I was a counselor last summer and still enjoyed it.

yeah but I hated them.

I've always been a kid that likes home alot. The best part was the bus ride back, although some of the things at camp were fun.. I guess.

I have never really managed to get to sleep with other people in the same room. If I do go away somewhere I prefer it to be nicer than home (i.e. 4 star hotel or better). I need my own space to chill out some times. We don’t really have Camp in the UK but I did go on a few school things where we spent a week in some sort of outward bound centre sharing rooms of 4 people . Dew to the sleeping arrangements I was quite stressed most of the time. At times I hated it, but at the same time I relay enjoyed some parts.

I have an Aspie friend from Uni. who went to a mainstream boarding school from when he was 13. He really enjoyed it. As it was boarding there was zero tolerance on bullying so he got on fine. As most thing were organised so he was included in everything that went on and was never left out. People just accepted him for what he is. As a result he was a lot more prepared for uni.

It depends on what you son wants to do. Every one is different.

As you just said there aren't many camps in England so I've never been on one of those (good job too)..

But at school we have residential weekends and weeks. And they really stress me out. There was one last year, where I am sure that I was very anti-social with people because of being with them all day.

Oh well, at least nobody noticed

Personally summer camps suck. I do not like them and prefer spending the summer with friends going crazy!

I've been to day camps and one sleepaway camp over the years. I got bullied in the day camps, and usually became friends with the counselors instead of the other campers. Sleepaway camp wasn't comfortable for me because I was very homesick and missed my old, familiar environment... but those are just my experiences.

I went to church camps and cub-scout camps until I was 12. They seemed to be pretty harmless. From 13 to 18 I went to Air Cadet camps. There was some bullying there, but I liked living in a highly structured environment and did very well.

Thank you all for answering.

You have given me much to think about.

BeeBee

I usually went to week-long camps with another young girl that I knew since I was 4. It was overall fun but I did get teased alot.

Well, sorta. It wasn't a typical summer camp up in the woods with a silly Indian-sounding name, but they did call it a camp. It was at my high school. We made lots of arts and crafts and some kind of pizza you put that sprinkly parmesan cheese on. And we logged a lot of time in and around the pool. Kinda neat. Plus I got to go home every day.

I go to a camp for disbaled kids for a week every summer, past 2 years now. Camp Moore in Haskell, NJ. It's run by the Elks, so it's cheap for you. But there's more. hey have a nice pool, everything has AC, and cool games too! They also have nice counselors who are from other countries! It's really cool! I beleive you have to be a current or former resident of NJ, and I'm sure you have to be between 8 and 17 and have some kind of disability. Other than that, maybe your kid would like it, for only 1 week!

I've been to several band camps. When I wasn't playing music, I was playing soccer or card games with a few people. I never felt comfortable sleeping in places outside of my home unless it was in a hotel room. The food was yummy though.

I went to a camp in 1994 (at age 11), which was a Jewish overnight camp. It had a strict, almost military-like schedule, but it had things that most camps don't have: air-conditioned sleeping areas and dining halls. Sleeping areas had twin beds with comfortable bedding, modern washrooms, and locker room-style showers. Dining halls had chairs and tables with tablecloths and regular dishes. Perhaps this is due to the fact that this was a Jewish camp, as opposed to a more traditional sleep-away camp, the kind with rustic cabins, picnic-style meals, and a Native American-sounding name.

There were regular activities, ranging from organized relay races and sports, to movie nights at an outdoor theater, as well as free time and swimming, both in a pool and in a river. The was a large forest on the camp property, where kids were allowed to run around as they pleased. Many kids played hide-and-seek in tree branches. Swimming as a group took place once every few days. After dark, the camp did bonfires, free time on a playground, one after-dark pool party (which I loved) and one dance night (which I hated). There were also two field trips: one to a Jewish museum plus lunch at a bagel place, and the other to sing Israeli songs in a retirement home.

The camp session was 3 weeks, but there were parent visits days on a regular basis. Bullying did happen, but it was was quite mild and sporadic, and usually only in somewhat "deserved" situations, like when I spilled a cup of tea on my shorts (a few kids gave me a hard time about it for about a week after). Nothing severe enough to cause emotional distress ever happened. Mischief was limited to throwing bricks taken from a pile behind the maintenance building into the river, or squirting water from second-story windows on kids below.

All in all, I really liked the camp, and got along well with most of the kids. The food in the dining halls was diner-quality, but made fresh daily and not repetitive. Counselors were strict when necessary but pleasant to be around. I'm really glad my parents sent me there; sadly, I didn't end up keeping in touch with the people I met.