Tri State Camp Conference

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Tri State Camp ConferenceEach summer at camp, we consistently push our campers with Asperger’s Syndrome and High Function Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to try new things and to be open to learn something new. It’s such an important part of camp for them to step out of their comfort zone and take a leap of faith with the support of their counselors. This is what camp is all about, and why we see so much growth in our campers each summer.

 

It’s only fair then, that we challenge ourselves to try new things, and continue growing as camp professionals, too! As with every year, for three days in March, we took some time to do just that at the Tri-State Camp Conference in New Jersey. Camps from around the country (and world!) assembled together for the largest camp conference in the world all with one common goal, challenging ourselves to keep learning and making camp better for today’s youth. Every year, we walk away from the conference with new found motivation to bring new ideas to camp, and to do everything we can to make camp better. It’s amazing to be surrounded by so many professionals with the same passion for growing their programs.

 

A few highlights from this year:

  • Susan Cain, author of Quiet, gave the opening keynote address about how to harness the power of introverted people at camp. It was very thought provoking and challenged us to think about how we encourage and support our introverted campers and staff members.
  • We got some great new ideas on how to continually support our amazing staff, and give them even more tools to help our campers with Asperger’s Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) make meaningful peer connections.
  • Our very own assistant director Kevin was a member of Program Committee for the conference, and helped bring in many of the awesome speakers who provoked our minds! He also took an American Camp Association (ACA) Standards course, to continue our accreditation with the ACA. Did you know Camp Akeela is ACA accredited and what that means? Check out what accreditation means for your family here http://www.acacamps.org/staff-professionals/accreditation-standards/accreditation/about-aca-accreditation.

We’re proud to be part of an industry that is always learning and growing, and love sharing that passion with our amazing campers!

Winter Weekend Recap

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Our third annual Winter Weekend was a big hit! All of us are incredibly proud of how our campers represented Akeela throughout the weekend. It was so great to see our campers (and staff!) reconnecting with each other, and also building relationships with new friends! Campers enjoyed some favorite camp activities like Human Scavenger Hunt and the famed “Daraoke,” showed off their bowling prowess at a local bowling alley, and showed true Akeela spirit by donating food and winter clothing to a local community center! We’re already thinking about next year and can’t wait to get back. Check out some images from the weekend below.

Autism Spectrum Camp Staff: Part 2

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Welcome Back and a Happy New Year to all!!

Part 2 of Autism Spectrum Camp Staff : Click to read part 1 

Most recently, we joined our colleagues at our annual CampGroup retreat. Approximately 80 of us spent three days in Western Massachusetts, learning and laughing together. There were over 25 educational sessions on topics such as staff interviewing & training, customer service, communications policies, programs for older campers and of course our number one priority: the physical and emotional safety of everyone in our camp communities. Ironically (as representatives of CampGroup’s least competitive camp!), Kevin and Eric organized the first-ever CampGroup Color War, a series of silly competitions that brought a lot of spirit and camaraderie to the retreat.

The longest and most in-depth session at the CampGroup retreat addressed the topic of LGBTQ campers and staff. We were very lucky to be joined by Jeff Perrotti, the founding director of the Massachusetts Department of Education’s Safe Schools Program for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Students. Jeff led us through a fantastic workshop about a very important subject. We are passionately dedicated to making sure that camps are welcoming communities to everyone. While there is always more to learn, we feel great about Akeela’s leadership in this area. As a camp for “quirky” kids, Akeela was founded on the principal of warmly embracing those who don’t always feel fully accepted by others; we’re proud to see how that welcoming spirit has extended to people from all backgrounds.

As camp professionals, we believe firmly that there is always room for improvement and growth. To that end, we feel very lucky to have a large network of some of the best professionals in the field with whom we continually learn. We love sharing our expertise and experiences with others and appreciate that they do the same for us. As we teach our campers to be open to new experiences and to learning from their peers, we recognize that need in ourselves as well.

Happy Holidays from Camp Akeela!

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Happy Holidays from all of us at Akeela! We’ve put together our annual camper slideshows and hope you enjoy watching them. We enjoyed a walk down memory lane while looking through these pictures from our fantastic summer in 2016. Campers, remember to reach out to your friends you see in the slideshow!

Session 1

Akeela 2016 Session 1

Session 2

Akeela 2016 Session 2

Autism Spectrum Camp Staff: Part 1

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Autism Spectrum Camp Directors:

When we tell people that we’re summer camp directors, one of the most common responses is to ask us, “What do you do the rest of the year?” They often have a hard time believing that our 7-week summer camp translates into a more-than-full-time job for 5 of us! Blayne and his team work at camp to maintain and upgrade our beautiful camp facilities. Each year, he has at least one large construction project (e.g. new camper cabins, the Lodge, the camp office). And a variety of smaller maintenance tasks that keep them very busy!

Aspergers Camp Directors high standards & Planning

Meanwhile, Debbie, Eric, Kevin and Dave work in an office just outside Philadelphia. Together, we make sure that every summer at Akeela is the best it can be. That includes hiring the most incredible summer camp staff in the country – no small task given the size of our staff (over 100) and our extremely high standards (many inquiries and interviews for each available position). We also work hard to ensure that every camper who attends Akeela is a great fit. To that end, we spend many hours getting to know all prospective campers and their families. This include speaking with three non family members for each applicant. Of course, there is also a lot of planning that goes into the camp program. In contrast from the traditional camp activities to trips and special events. This year, program planning is even more intense as we’re launching Camp Akeela in Wisconsin and totally revamping Beyond Akeela!

ASD Summer Camp educator on our mission

Another large component of our off-season time is dedicated to professional development. Camp directors are first and foremost educators and child development specialists. We’re also HR directors, supervisors and leaders who get to train and inspire staff members to profoundly change lives of the children. Moreover, we manage complex operations on large properties with food service, water supplies, environmental responsibilities and a host of other factors. The more we learn and share in these areas, the better we can be at delivering our mission. Which is to provide our campers with the most incredible, life-changing summer experience on the planet. For that reason, all of us are actively engaged in attending, volunteering and even presenting at educational conferences organized by the American Camp Association (ACA).

Camp Akeela as a part of Camp Group

In addition to our involvement in the ACA, we are very fortunate to work closely with approximately fifteen other sets of camp directors. Most of these camps are in the Northeast: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York. A few are in the Midwest: Camp Akeela in Wisconsin and Lake of the Woods and Greenwoods Camps in Michigan. Together, we make up a family of camps called CampGroup. As an organization, we share core values of human development, excellence, building community and industry leadership. That manifests in a number of ways, including regular gatherings to support each others’ camps and share best practices.

Be sure to check back next week for part 2

Aspergers and Technology

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Utilizing Modern Technology to Improve Self-Awareness and Self-Advocacy

I recently had the pleasure of attending a conference at Adelphi University on Long Island at which world renown clinical psychologist and Aspergers expert Dr. Tony Attwood presented on the topic of emotional regulation in children and early adolescents. Dr. Attwood covered a variety of topics from the psychological reaction to “being different” to having and dealing with various levels of anxiety.

Being a millennial who gets entranced by the all of the latest technology (have you seen the trailer for the Nintendo Switch?! It’s amazing! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5uik5fgIaI), the topic that he discussed that caught my eye the most was the use of modern technologies to help children more easily recognize when they feel upset.
The Fitbit is an amazing tool that can not only help children and adults keep track of their health, such as how many steps they are taking or calories they are burning in a day, but newer Fitbits and other “smart watches” also have built in heartrate monitors that are amazingly useful towards improving self-awareness. For many of our campers, it is difficult for them to tell when they are getting upset, and incidents usually come about without much warning. One of the first and most basic warning signs of someone getting upset is the increase in heartrate, and with a piece of technological assistance like this one, children can check their heartrate right on their wrist to see if it is higher than it normally should be. This may indicate that they are beginning to feel upset, and they can advocate for themselves that they proactively need time to cool down. After some time, children may be able to recognize other warning signs their body is giving them that are paired with the increased heartrate – increased muscle tension, hot feeling in the neck or face, clenching of the jaw, etc. – and this feeling could become more recognizable and in turn easier to prevent.
For parents, one of the benefits of this technology is that it often comes with a smartphone app that tracks the data. If a child’s Fitbit is linked to a parent’s smartphone, the parent can monitor what times of day they see a drastic spike in heartrate. If a child’s heartrate continuously spikes around noon, it is likely that the child has some anxiety about the lunch room, or if the heartrate spikes during third period math class, that child might have some underlying issue with math that they cannot or have not yet verbalized to a parent. There is a classic scenario of a parent asking their child how their day at school went, only to get the blunt response of, “It was good.” By using this technology parents may be able to be more attune to difficulties at school which will in turn make the child’s school experience more positive.

Dr. Attwood has been the keynote speaker at events around the world and he has authored or co-authored multiple books and articles about Aspergers. Visit http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/ for more information.

Transitions Home

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As we look back on another amazing summer at Camp Akeela, we can’t help but think of the many success stories our campers gave us, and the incredible hard work the counselors shared with the community. We are so lucky to be surrounded by a wonderful group of campers and staff who bring energy and enthusiasm to camp every summer! The two months we spend at camp each summer are the best months of our year. As the camp saying goes, we live 10 for 2!

Returning home with the onset of fall reminds us of the difficulties we all have with the transition from our camp lives to home lives. We know that for our campers, this challenge is magnified. Coming back to the “real world” and a new school year after a summer of camp and family vacations can be a stressor for all of us. Thinking about the transition from summer to fall reminds us that this is very important time for us to support each other and, most importantly, our campers who struggle most with this change.

Here are some strategies we can all use to help with this transition:
-Keep in touch with other members of our community who are also going through this transition at the same time as you. Whether it be a bunkmate or other friend from camp, a parent you met on visiting day, or one of the Akeela Facebook groups, staying connected with others helps with the transition. Campers, remember to look at the Transition Report you went home with and keep in touch with your camp friends!

-Camp came with many successes for our campers. Look back on the 2016 summer and take pride in your accomplishments! Remember the positive and warm feelings you had when you made a new friend, accomplished a new goal, or challenged yourself to try something new. Think about how you can apply the new skills learned and confidence gained from the summer to your lives at home.

We hope your transition home and into the new school year has been going well so far, and that the spirit of Akeela will get us all through any challenging moments this year brings. As our camp song reminds us… “Seasons spin around again, ‘til summers here at last.”

Love,
Your Akeela Family

Spring 2016 Newsletter

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Camp is just around the corner! We’re excited to make our way up to camp in just one month to start prepping camp and our wonderful staff for Opening Day. Below you’ll find the link to our latest newsletter, the Spring 2016 Akeela Circular! Inside the newsletter you’ll find a preview of what to expect on day one of camp, get updates on some of the new things happening at camp, meet our superstar leadership team, and other information for our camp friends. Be sure to check out some of the reminders about baggage, camp forms, and other logistical items, too.

Read the newsletter here:
Spring 2016 Akeela Circular

Winter 2016 Newsletter

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The latest edition of our camp newsletter, The Akeela Circular, has arrived! This edition included recaps of Winter Weekend and Family Stay & Play. It also outlines some exciting new initiatives to help keep our camper and parent communities better connected throughout the year. Kevin announces this year’s winner of our staff Fantasy Football league, Blayne’s Bulletin announces a few exciting facilities updates, and of course there are other important news items and reminders for our camp friends.

Read the newsletter here:
Winter 2016 Akeela Circular

Don’t forget to also check out the
Summer 2015 Camper Slideshows!

2015 Camp Slideshows Are Here!

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Happy New Year everyone! We’ve put together our annual slideshows from our 2015 summer sessions to remember the great moments we shared with each other at camp. Campers, remember to reach out to your friends you see in the slideshow to catch up!

Session 1

2015 Camp Slideshows Session 1

Session 2

2015 Camp Slideshows Session 2