move toward a final selection. How important is location—a camp close to home or further away? More important than distance are the camp environment, security, medical facilities, and accessibility. In the final analysis, if the child is having a good experience, distance is less significant. Program offerings vary among camps. Specialty camps provide an intensive experience in a single area such as tennis, horseback riding or wilderness. A more traditional camp program tends to be broader in its offerings. You and your child should look into the total camp program as you examine the quality of the staff and facilities as well as the camp’s philosophies regarding competition, participation in new and different activities, instruction, and program structure. As you begin to gather information, you can ask other parents for recommendations as well as friends of your children. After you’ve identified camp programs that look appealing, you can collect information from brochures, videos, and web pages. Once you’ve narrowed your list, you can arrange
to correspond or meet with the camp directors for more specific information on questions such as: the age and background of the director, the goals and philosophy of the staff, facilities; camper-counselor ratio, staff make-up and training, total costs, sleeping arrangements, extracurricular programs, safety and security programs, foods offered, mail and telephone/pager policies, medical facilities, emergency preparations (e.g., bad weather), insurance coverage, and references. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, or to let your child ask questions. Good camps care about parental concerns. Do consider all facets of the camp; for example, a camp’s facility might be very impressive but won’t mean a great deal if the atmosphere is not friendly, or if the staff and program are inadequate. Above all, involve your child in the selection process. Finally, ask for references from families and children who have attended the camp. For more information, visit the National Camp Association, Inc. at www.summercamp.org or call (800) 966-2267.
DID YOU KNOW? ASDC has a lending library free to all members. To check out books and DVDs, visit www.deafchildren.org, call (800) 942-2732, or e-mail asdc@deafchildren.org. 60