This month we’re discussing summer camps for individuals with autism. Summer time can be a stressful time of year because school is out and parents struggle to find activities to engage their kids. The job doesn’t end, however, when enrollment is completed. Now parents and professionals need to work together to make sure summer camp is a productive learning environment, not simply a place the student goes for 3 to 8 hours a day. This is only accomplished through a series of steps similar to what was outlined in an article published in the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions by Lauren Brookman, et. al.
In this article, the authors describe their approach to facilitating social interactions during an all-inclusive summer camp program in California. Summer camp is a great time to focus on developing the social interaction skill of individuals with autism. The focus during summer camp for everyone should be to engage in fun activities, develop relationships and build interpersonal skills of all campers. For individuals with autism, who have an inherent difficulty with social interaction skills, there needs to be a lot more thought put into developing a plan of action for summer camp to maximize the success.
In the summer camp they described the majority of participants were typically developing. This arrangement (high ratio of TD individuals) allows for more opportunities to socially interact with other individuals who are not struggling socially. These interactions are typically more productive when working on social skills because the typically developing peers are able to model more appropriate social skills.
In addition to the high ratio of typically developing peers, aides were also trained to support the campers with autism. The aides were trained to implement Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT; an ABA-based intervention), behavior modification procedures, and positive behavior support techniques. There was an aide assigned to one or two campers with autism. Throughout the camp, the aides were also provided with on-going supervision and feedback to ensure they were implementing the techniques to facilitate social interactions correctly and effectively.
Each camper with autism was assessed prior to the start of camp to develop individualized goals. These goals were aimed at increasing the number of appropriate social initiations, increasing participation in camp routines and activities, and increasing the number of appropriate responses and questions to peers during social interactions.
The final component of their summer camp program was to maintain open communication with the parents of the individuals with autism. This parent involvement in developing and discussing the program prior to beginning camp and on-going communication during camp is helpful to address any concerns the parents may have.
The components of a successful summer camp suggested by Brookman and her colleagues are not always simple to put into place, but when implemented they are likely to maximize the success possible through participation in a summer camp. If you’re a parent of an individual with autism or a professional who works with individuals with autism, utilizing summer camps as a vehicle for teaching social skills should be a priority prior to and during the summer months. With some forethought and planning, the opportunities for learning during these months can be maximized.
