If you are like many parents in America, you are wondering what to do with your children now that Summer is here and the entire world remains in the thick of the novel coronavirus. Many States are just nearing their peak number of infections, or they are bracing for a possible second round of cases come the Fall. Regardless of where you live, the immediate question is how do we keep kids gainfully occupied and safe this summer?
In-spite of everyone’s best efforts to get back to normal, the Summer Camp models of the recent past, do not look so promising in the wake of a highly contagious pandemic that is still going strong. If you have the double jeopardy of finding a camp for a special needs child, the degree of difficulty to accomplish this has just quadrupled! It was hard enough prior to the pandemic to find a viable camp when your child has Autism or some other developmental disability, now there is an added worry with COVID-19 in the mix.
Are there Summer Camps that can satisfy all the unique requirements to accommodate special needs children along with the additional challenges of social distancing, mask/face covering etc.? How about a guarantee of consistent cohorts, small groups and outdoor activities to reduce the risk? I can think of one such camp, hopefully there are others. Cicily Cares Community Connection Summer Camp was created with the unique needs of children with developmental disabilities in mind prior to the pandemic. It is worth checking out. See link attached: https://cicilycares.com/special-needs-summer-camp-serving-port-st-lucie-fort-pierce-stuart/ The groups are small, and for consistency all campers stay in the same group for the duration of camp. Activities are varied and mostly outdoors which is ideal especially for those who may have difficulty with social distancing and compliance with face covering.
There is so much to learn as we seek out healthy, smart ways to keep our special needs population safe during the pandemic. The Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Considerations for Youth and Summer Camp has some great guidelines to help Summer Camps maintain safety and reduce the spread of COVID-19. See link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/summer-camps.html Ask your camp Administrators if they are following the general CDC guidelines, and in addition what other steps are in place to keep a child with Special Needs safe at Camp.
It is a given that once our children venture out, the risk for contracting the virus will be much higher than if our children stayed home. However, I am of the opinion that we cannot keep our children home indefinitely. With or without COVID-19, our children must continue to learn, socialize and interact with their communities to promote a sense of normalcy. After all, that is what we sought for them before all our worlds were turned upside down.
For those with Autism and other disabilities, ‘normal’ was always different, so with the advent of COVID-19, this population will adapt to another new normal, one that keeps them safe as they wait, like everyone else… for a vaccine.