MAKING THE MOST OF ONE’S ABILITIES
Kids with special needs are just like other children. During the school year they spend much of their time in highly-structured environments. When summer comes, they want to have fun and soak up some warmth.
Montreal and surrounding areas are rich with day camp and sleepaway options designed for kids with all levels of abilities.
When Dan Ten Veen and Liam O’Rourke were educators at Giant Steps School, for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), it became clear that the students could benefit from a creative outlet. Their experience in film-making and access to equipment led them to start Spectrum Productions (SP), a day camp in Montreal’s Mile End district, where kids with ASD engage in all aspects of the film-making process.
“At SP, campers work independently and learn to collaborate with others,” said director Ten Veen. “They can be in front of the camera, do film editing, scriptwriting and work on sound production.” He explained that these activities get creative juices flowing and encourage storytelling. Each cam per works on a short film, which is screened during SP’s .“Spectrum Productions day camp (http://productionsspectrum.com/en/) is divided into four two-week sessions, structured by age group and experience. Besides filmmaking activities, time is set aside each day to play in a park nearby.”
Trails of Summer is anon-profit day camp, based in an elementaryschool in Dollar d-d es-Or me aux, for kids with developmental challenges. Starting the camp was a natural progression for director Lynne Pronman.
She was a lifelong camper and had been a social worker for 30 years, working with special-needs youth. In 2011, Pronman and her husband launched Trails of Summer, on a shoestring.
“The first year we registered 15 children,” Lynne Pronman said. “We grew quickly and now have 50 kids, aged three to 12, per week. Our mission is to ensure that each camper shines and has a magical summer.” Camp days are divided into 45-minute segments with activities that include circle time, gross- and fine-motor activities, swimming, arts and crafts, and science. There are also plenty of outings.
“Our-one-to-one-staff-to-camper ratio allows us to customize programming based on the children’s needs. Responding to popular demand, last summer we created Teens on the Trail for kids 13- plus .”
For eight weeks each summer, since 1951, Camp Massawippi has welcomed campers, ages six to 30, with physical, hearing or visual impairments, to their residential camp in Ayer’s Cliff, in the Eastern Townships. “Each session consists of 11 nights ,” said Lisa Crutch er, assistantdirector .“We also offer five to six-night stays for newcomers .”
The camp, located on a stunning 19-acre property on the shores of Lake Massawippi, is renowned for its fully-adapted waterfront. The camp’s water-ski program is considered the best in Eastern Canada; it is a fully-adapted “sit-ski” approach, which allows everyone to experience the exhilaration of waterskiing. “Some of our other activities include arts and crafts, nature workshops and gardening,” Crutcher added. “We are so proud that, in 2017, Camp Massawippi was chosen, by the Quebec Camp Association inspectors, as the recipient of the coup-de-coeur award, for their favourite camp in the province.”
Camp Massawippi also runs a summer day camp at the Mackay Centre, on Décarie Blvd., in N.D.G.
Camp Garagona, in Frelighsburg (Eastern Townships), is a residential camp for teens and adults with intellectual disabilities. Founded as a summer camp in 1969, Camp Garagona made the switch from a seasonal to a yearround facility in the late 1990s.
“We can accommodate 80, for sleeping,” said Nicholas Brien, camp director. “We maintain a two-to-one camper-to-staff ratio so we can help with social interaction, fitness and personal care.”
Brien explained that Garagona’s registration form consists of 120 questions, which provides details to help staff plan appropriate activities. During the summer, most campers stay at Camp Garagona for two to 10 days, but longer stays are possible.
“Our philosophy is simple — we are all about joy,” he said. “Our days are fun-filled with pool time, sports, theatre and culinary arts. We bring in musicians for concerts and, at the end of the year, we serve campers a five-course meal, complete with fancy tablecloths; it makes them feel so special.”