Not Your Average Summer Camp
by Kelsey Tsipis
North Carolina Health News
August 3, 2012
A Chatham County camp for all ranges of the autism spectrum provides a summer to remember for happy campers.
Mary Sumeracki admits she was a bit concerned dropping her son off for his first overnight summer camp.
“I expected a call from him right away that he wanted to come home,” said Sumeracki.
Mary’s 16-year-old son Thomas was diagnosed last November with Asperger’s syndrome. In the past, he has had trouble making friends, controlling his frustration and is accustomed to being the target of high-school bullies.
But Thomas never called to come home. In fact, he was too busy to call at all.
Instead, during his wdynamicduoeek at Camp Royall, a camp designed specifically for people of all ages across the autism spectrum, Thomas was engaged, sociable and even a leader. For seven days, Thomas swam, made sure everyone was included in basketball games and hung out with friends on the 133-acre facility located in rural Pittsboro.
Thomas was one of 30 campers that attended a “high-functioning teen week” this summer at Camp Royall. The Autism Society of North Carolina built the camp in 1997, and it now serves about 350 campers over 10 weeks each summer. Each camper is paired with a counselor who’s trained for 10 days prior to camp. This year, the camp’s youngest attendee was 4-years-old, while the oldest was 67.
While demand for services like Camp Royall is growing, money to expand isn’t. The camp currently has a waiting list of over 200 people. Campers are chosen via a blind lottery. After that, the society makes a determination if the family is able to pay $1600 for the week. For families that can’t scrape together that kind of money, scholarships are available. This summer $152,000 in scholarships went to give campers the opportunity to have the summer camp experience.
The camp’s director Sara Gage, who started as a counselor 16 years ago, said these scholarships are especially important as one-third of the campers come from families living on less than $10,000 a year, oftentimes because the child requires a parent to stay home and provide constant care.
“We’ve never had to turn anyone down because of money and we don’t choose campers according to high or low functioning,” said Tracey Sheriff, CEO of The Autism Society of North Carolina. “Unless there is a serious medical condition, we’re able to accommodate campers with all needs.”
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Camp Royall can be a welcome relief for families, especially those accustomed to 24/7 care for their loved ones. Mary Sumeracki, who has stopped working, said she has handled Thomas’ behavior almost entirely herself.
“I started noticing differences when he hit two-years-old,” said Mary. “So since he was three-years-old, I’ve been dealing with his education, why he’s so far behind, fighting with the school system to get the help he needs, trying to hold him back because he’s not getting it. In many ways I feel like I’m on my own.”
The program started in the early 1970s, when a group of parents and children camped in a backyard for a week. Now, Camp Royall is the nation’s oldest and largest summer camp program for people with autism. Gage says the camp is now a vital experience for autistic children of all ages to be able to have a normal summer camp experience.
“They need it more than anyone,” said Gage.
Mary Sumeracki was thrilled to provide the same summer camp experience her two older daughters had growing up for Thomas.
“During the summer, when he’s at home he watches a lot of TV,” said Sumeracki. “With him it’s difficult because he has no friends and it’s something to do. He’s very much a homebody. He doesn’t like change.”
But Thomas thrived with the structured days and planned activities at camp. Every cabin has a mapped out plan for the day: morning camp songs, pool time, shower.
Thomas also said he made a good friend the first day of camp. He and his new friend Alex became known as the “dynamic duo.”
“That the only reason for this camp is to make friends and have fun,” said Thomas after camp. “It’s less difficult because there’s so many kids I can meet and become friends with.”
Time to show off
One of the camp’s traditions is a weekly talent show. As parents come to the site on Friday afternoons to pick up their campers, they get to see the group show off.
On Friday, campers sang songs, did face-painting, told jokes and hustled through obstacle courses. Mary watched her son interacting with more friends in one hour than he has previously in a whole year.
“I missed him but he needed this,” said Mary, as Thomas made his way through an obstacle course of hula-hoops and tires. “This was a big deal for us.”
To an outsider, Thomas was just an excited, engaged teenaged boy at camp this week. But for Mary it’s been a 13-year battle to see him this happy. She was often told by Thomas’ teachers that he was just lazy prior to his diagnosis. She and her husband even tried a private military school 3 hours away.
“The socializing aspect of this camp is the best thing ever,” said Mary. “It’s the only place that there are other kids like him and it’s okay. It’s a place where he’s not being bullied or constantly being made fun of.”
http://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2012/08/03/not-your-average-summer-camp/