SPECIAL NEEDS

special needs camps

DAY CAMPS

H BOULDER PARKS & RECREATION EXPAND: CAMP AMICO BOULDER 303-441-4933 BPRCAMPS.ORG Experience fun and friendship with this special camp pairing youth with and without disabilities. Campers ages 12-18 will enjoy swimming, games, crafts and field trips to improve social skills, fitness and fun! Open to mentors and youth with disabilities. Call Sherri for more.

H BOULDER PARKS & RECREATION EXPAND: OUTDOOR ADVENTURE CAMP BOULDER 303-441-3416 BPRCAMPS.ORG Specifically for youth with mental health diagnoses/affective needs. This camp offers much fun, challenging outdoor activities and field trips for ages 6-11. Great for problem-solving, social skills and self-awareness. Six-week program. Call Chelsea for more.

H COLORADO CENTER FOR THE BLIND SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAMS LITTLETON 303-778-1130 ext. 222 COCENTER.ORG We have programs that teach the skills of blindness and offer exciting recreational activities for students in elementary school, middle school, high school and college prep.

H COLORADO CONSERVATORY OF DANCE’S SUMMER CAMPS BROOMFIELD 303-466-5685 CCDANCE.ORG/ADAPTIVEDANCE-PROGRAM/ Ballet Expressions, a program designed for children with specific physical and cognitive needs, is offered for children ages 4-18. There is something for you this summer at CCD! Located at Colorado Conservatory of Dance, 3001 Industrial Lane #12, 80020. Call or visit our website to learn more about our adaptive dance programs.

H LEARNING PATHWAYS SUMMER ADVENTURE READING CAMP BOULDER 303-449-1941 LEARNINGPATHWAYSCOLORADO.COM Back for its fourth year, this is a camp like none other. We provide a summer boost for the struggling reader or one who has been diagnosed with dyslexia. Orton-Gillingham instruction is used along with activities to engage and ignite learning all the while feeling like summer camp! Two, three-week sessions, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Session 1 is June 8-26 and Session 2 is July 13-31. Visit our website to register.

H YAY! CAMP HIGHLANDS RANCH 303-569-2333 EASTERSEALSCOLORADO.ORG Helping children ages 7-18 with disabilities live with equality, dignity and independence.

OVERNIGHT

H ADAM’S CAMP WINTER PARK — YMCA SNOW MOUNTAIN RANCH 303-563-8290 ADAMSCAMP.ORG Adventure Camp is a five-day/ night sleep-away camp that is full of fun, challenge and adventure! Campers enjoy activities that expand social horizons and provide the opportunity to develop the courage to try new things while gaining independence and confidence. This program is designed for youth and adults with mild to moderate developmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. Campers must be mobile and enjoy group activities. Campers participate in daily adventures which may include zip lining, archery, rafting, alpine slides, swimming, wall climb, tubing, low ropes course, hiking, talent show, campfires and a camp-wide dance. Campers stay in family-style cabins with counselors, volunteers and peers. Our staffing of two experienced counselors and four volunteers per team of 10 campers allows for individualized relationships with each camper. Join us this summer in exploring the beauty and adventure that the Rocky Mountains has to offer!

H CAMP WAPIYAPI DENVER 303-534-0883 CAMPWAPIYAPI.ORG Camp Wapiyapi is specially created for children to recapture the delight and spontaneity of being childlike, which cancer has stolen from them — at no charge to the families. “They can try things in a safe environment and focus on play, rather than on being sick,” shares Meg Macy, M.D., Children’s Hospital Colorado. “The

BOULDER WEEKLY KIDSCAMP emotional benefit of this is immense.” Friendships nurtured at camp not only create a fun and memorable experience but also promote continued healing as these relationships grow. With a dedicated medical staff volunteering on-site, parents relax and reconnect, which is crucial to strengthening the family as a unit. It also provides life-changing experiences for hundreds of volunteer companions who support the children at camp. H COLORADO CENTER FOR THE BLIND SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAMS LITTLETON 303-778-1130 ext. 222 COCENTER.ORG We have programs that teach the skills of blindness and offer exciting recreational activities for students in elementary school, middle school, high school and college prep. adventures for young adults ( ages 18-39) with cancer. Since its inception in 2001, First Descents has successfully influenced the lives of more than 3,000 young adults with cancer, by hosting multi-day adventure programs that are free for participants. H ROCKY MOUNTAIN VILLAGE EMPIRE 303-569-2333 EASTERSEALSCOLORADO.ORG A comprehensive summer camp program serving children and adults with a wide variety of special needs. COLORADO CONSERVATORY OF DANCE

H COLORADO LIONS CAMP WOODLAND PARK 719-687-2087 COLORADOLIONSCAMP.ORG Residential camp program for individuals with developmental and physical disabilities, ages 8 to senior adult.

H FIRST DESCENTS ESTES PARK 303-945-2490 FIRSTDESCENTS.ORG First Descents is a nonprofit organization based in Denver that provides life-changing outdoor

Above: The Colorado Conservatory of Dance offers a variety of camps, including programs for children with specific needs.

Jarrow Montessori School Roots & Wings Camp For 3-6 year-olds Summer Camp encompasses all the benefits of the traditional Montessori classroom with the added fun and adventure found on our extensive outdoor campus! Located in the heart of North Boulder on a beautiful 3-acre campus. Half & Full Day Options Session 1: June 1-26 / Session 2: July 6-24 For more information & to register visit www.jarrow.org

Enrolling now for limited spots in our school year program for ages 18 months to12 years THINK.

CREATE. INNOVATE. COLLABORATE.

Jarrow Montessori School* Toddler-6th grade * AMS Accredited School * 3900 Orange Court, Boulder, CO 80304 303.443.0511 * www.jarrow.org

CULTIVATING LIFE SKILLS AND LIFELONG FRIENDSHIPS Boulder’s EXPAND camps provide unique opportunities for recreation and socialization for kids with developmental disabilities by Matt Cortina

For 40 years, the City of Boulder’s Exciting Programs Adventures and New Dimensions (EXPAND) curriculum has helped Boulder County residents with developmental disabilities access recreational opportunities and build friendships and social skills along the way.

In summer, EXPAND holds two specialized summer camps for Boulder County kids with developmental disabilities: Camp Amico and Outdoor Adventure Camp.

Camp Amico is your classic summer camp. Open to kids ages 12-18, campers participate in a host of traditional activities like swimming, canoeing, rock climbing, field trips, art projects, science experiments and more. There are also four or five able-bodied peer mentors the same age of the campers on hand to help foster friendships and provide support and roll modeling, says Lori Goldman, recreation supervisor of therapeutic programs at Boulder Parks and Recreation.

“Most teens at that age are not going to traditional summer camp,” Goldman says. “This helps provide that service so they can still be working on social skills and having a good time in summer, and their parents can still work.”

Outdoor Adventure Camp, EXPAND’s other summer camp, offers about 15 kids with ADHD, ODD, anxiety disorders, PTSD and other diagnoses the chance to “have a fun, successful experience in the summer,” Goldman says.

A high staff-to-camper ratio (as much as 2:1 some years) creates a situation where every camper is adequately attended to and the staff is able to address each individual’s unique challenges and help boost self-perceptions.

“[These campers] maybe tried summer camps and kept getting kicked out so self-esteem is something we work on a lot in that camp,” Goldman says. “We tailor [activities] to each kid, and that’s something that the small staff groups and high ratios can help with. We come up with goals for each individual child and their parents.”

The benefits of the camps are obvious, Goldman says.

“A lot of kids are fighting their parents on getting up and going to school or camp because they have such bad histories and such with it,” she says. “I have a lot of parents tell me that their kid is excited to get up and go (to EXPAND camps), which is so fun to see.”

And the benefits are long-lasting. Friendships that otherwise would not have been cultivated are formed.

“Friendships are a big thing that often can develop in camp and of course [campers’] parents always say they’ve never had a friend before and they are now asking if they can have a play date,” Goldman says.

EXPAND serves about 350 people per year who participate in mutiple activities, Goldman says. The program is not limited to City of Boulder residents — about half come from outside Boulder. EXPAND also helps place hundreds of kids with developmental disabilities into traditional camps offered by the City, and offers support to ensure good outcomes.

Ultimately, these camps help kids with developmental disabilities build trust in their community and their peers, which has long-lasting, positive impacts.

“As they trust themselves and the staff they’re more willing to take on challenges and do more,” Goldman says. BOULDER PARKS & RECREATION