Summer Fun and Friendship for Children and Teens with Disabilities
Caledonia, MI (PRWEB) May 2, 2008 -- With the school year coming to a close, children and teens are thinking about summer adventures. For many kids, the summer is full of time with friends, swimming lessons, camp experiences, and vacations. But for children and teens with developmental disabilities, these summer opportunities are often not readily available. Many camps, lessons, and other activities are not set up to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities, and parents may worry about their child becoming overwhelmed or isolated in those settings. And yet, these children and their parents very much want to have the same summer experiences and memories of fun and friendship as everyone else.
For the past 6 years, Horizons Developmental Remediation Center in Michigan has been providing summer camp experiences for children and teenagers with autism and other developmental disabilities. Specially designed to meet the needs of these individuals, Horizons Summer Fun Camps provide children from around the country and the world with an opportunity to have fun, make new discoveries, and develop friendships throughout the summer months. "One of the best parts of each summer is watching the relationships our campers develop with the staff and with each other," says Camp Director Courtney Wiersum. "They are already starting to ask what weeks their friends will be coming so they can be sure to see them!"
Each week, Horizons campers explore a different theme designed to provide opportunities for problem solving, collaboration, communicating, and engaging with others. Nicole Beurkens, founder and Director of the Center, began offering camps for small groups of children six years ago. "The growth of the Center and our camps program has been amazing, and speaks to the need for these kinds of programs. We recognize the incredible potential each of our campers has to learn and engage with others. At the same time, they may need a slower pace and more support to reach their potential. Our camps provide the best of both worlds--great opportunities for discovery and friendships, coupled with the support and encouragement needed to take advantage of those opportunities."
Horizons camp participants benefit from the experience and expertise of highly trained professionals. This summer's staff members include a recreational therapist, certified special education teachers, an occupational therapist, a speech language pathologist, and consultants certified in the Relationship Development Intervention® Program, in addition to camp counselors and volunteers from a variety of backgrounds. "They are getting ready for a whole new series of adventures this summer," says Wiersum. "We will be sailing with pirates on the high seas, planting a garden, blasting off into space, and much more. Each week will bring a new set of experiences." Phillip Kuperus, a veteran camper who attends Horizons year round for school, is excited to see all of his friends again this summer. He and the other students have begun preparing the garden and planting some seeds. He says, "I want to show them the pumpkins I planted. They will be getting big when my friends come to camp."
People interested in Horizons camps and the other programs offered can obtain more information by visiting their website at www.horizonsdrc.com, or calling the Center at (616) 698-0306. The photo gallery on the website includes photos from previous years' camp adventures.
###
Related Articles:
Equip Your Kids To Clean Up After Themselves
Relax. That loud crash you just heard wasn?t the roof falling in; it was your kids opening the closet door in the playroom. Has the frustration of the never-ending mess led you to settle for stuffing the clutter into the closet and shutting the door? When you find yourself cleaning up several times each day, this may seem like a viable solution. If cleaning up after the kids has left you exasperated to the point where you just want to hide the mess behind the door, maybe you need a new plan of attack.
Fun Crafts For Teens Making Jewellery
Many teen girls look for a new hobby to start Making jewellery is an ideal hobby for teen girls to have
KooKoo Bear Kids Introduces Winter Catalogue Packed With New KIds Furniture and Bedding Collections
KooKoo Bear Kids, Inc., an online, catalog, and retail store marketer of designer rooms and exceptional gifts, introduces new kids furniture and bedding collections in their latest catalogue for Winter 2007.
How To Buy Kids Clothing ? Rugged But Stylish
Buying kids clothing is quite a challenge. You want durability, but your child is looking for the latest styles and wants to look cool like his or her friends and role models. As the fall season approaches, you will be looking for new styles that are practical and still modern. Remember, if you are shopping for older kids, their opinions do count. Garments they don?t like will just be thrown in the closet and that money wasted.
How To Balance Working At Home And Raising Your Kids
Most work at home moms start home based businesses because they want to be home with their little ones. And I was no different: I left a great corporate job to be around my two children.
CrossFit Boulder Creek Sponsors December Fundraiser for World Concern’s Kids to Kids Program
Beth Moscov, head trainer and owner of CrossFit Boulder Creek, is sponsoring a December fundraising drive for World Concern on December 28th, 2005. For a donation of $15.00, you can train with Beth at her mountain facility just outside Boulder Creek, from 9:00 am to 11:30am.
Cheap Car Insurance For Teens Is Easy To Get, Here Is How
One of the best ways to keep the rates down and obtain cheap car insurance for teens is by having your teen enroll in a driver education course. Not only do most car insurance companies offer discounts to teens who have taken driver education courses, but a driver education course will also help better prepare your teen for the road. Driver education courses are offered in most American high schools, and can be obtained by private companies.
What are the Real Risks of Body Piercing? -- Advice for Parents & Teens
Are you or your teenager considering a body piercing? Is it difficult to see eye-to-eye on this subject, or are you just not sure what the real risks of body piercing are? Sometimes it's hard to separate the facts from the myths surrounding body modification. When that happens, it can make it even harder for parents and teenagers to come to an agreement on whether a body piercing is an acceptable form of self-expression.
Make a Fairy Garden For Your Kids Party
A fairy garden is a great kids party activity, especially if your theme is a fairy party, garden party, or tea party. A dinosaur den or construction site garden is a fun alternative
for little boys too.
Ideas For Buying Fun Alphabet Clothing For Kids
The Alphabet line is not just for babies They have a wide-range of toddler and children clothing, too
RC Hobbies Not Just Toys For Kids Anymore
What is it that you do for fun in your spare time? We all have a pastime we enjoy, that one thing that takes next to no effort of brain functionality. For some of us it's watching TV, for others we might be embarrassed to share it with others. Something I love to do when I do have a free afternoon is fly my radio controlled helicopters. If you're not familiar with this it's known as RC hobbies, or remote controlled hobbies. Possibly back when you were a child you had a remote control dune buggy, I know I did, or maybe now you've been sucked into the world of adult RC hobbies. Realistically this stuff is for kids of any age, there are RC hobbies marketed towards children that are 9 or 10 years old, then there are those for the 40 year old bu...
Boxing: A Great Sport Even For Kids
Boxing is a very demanding sport that can bring great rewards to someone that gives it everything that they have and more. If you can stick with boxing, then you will learn many very important life skills that will help you to be a better person. Also you can make a great career out of boxing, and might even become rich and famous. However if the proper respect and effort is not given, then the sport can eat you up, and spit you back out again. I started my boxing career in the Junior Golden Gloves in my city. I believe that the lessons I was taught during this time have helped to shape me into the man that I have become today.
One Step Ahead and Leaps and Bounds Unveil New Halloween Costume Collection for Babies and Kids
Chelsea & Scott, Ltd. ? the successful online retailer behind the One Step Ahead and Leaps and Bounds catalogs ? has introduced its 2007 collection of baby and children?s costumes.
Kids: Channeling Mania Towards Productivity
More and more kids these days are diagnosed ADD, ADHD, or Bipolar. There are biological reasons for this, and there are environmental elements which can soothe or aggravate the symptoms.
Monitoring Internet Activity of Kids
Online safety is a top "family" issue these days. It's all over the news, blogs, and everybody concerned with kids wants to call themselves an expert and regurgitate the same tips. Well, it may seem like the message is finally sinking in and parents are listening: monitoring Internet activity of children is essential. Why then, pray tell, are so few putting it into physical practice. Why is it that as the ability to communicate and participate within the world escalated to new heights, parental governance of children decreased? How does that make sense?