When I talk to new families about Camp Akeela, I’m often asked, “How do you teach social skills”? I think what they want to know is, “Who’s curriculum are you using”, or “What is the structure of your social skills groups”? We believe those questions don’t necessarily get to the root of what we’re doing at Akeela.

As a school counselor, I spent years leading “social skills groups” in my Middle School office with kids (many with a diagnosis of ASD or NVLD) who needed more social support. I believe the students enjoyed their time with me and their peers and they certainly had an opportunity to practice socializing with students who were in their grade. But, I’m not sure how well those learned skills really translated back to the field, the lunchroom, the class. What was really missing, were chances to give my students feedback in the moment and then an opportunity to practice using the advice I could give.

Social Skills at Camp Akeela

Camp – ANY good camp – allows for that. Camp provides kids with an opportunity to live with other children their age. They have to work on compromise, sharing, respecting the time and boundaries of their peers. If they’re at the right camp for them, they are meeting other children who want to connect with them and get to know them. The camp community allows campers to practice social skills. At an overnight camp that practice is 24/7 and includes less structured time in the bunk, meals and evening times.

At Akeela – this is our focus. When we created Akeela in 2008, we were intentional about creating as many opportunities as possible for children to connect, have fun AND get constant and consistent feedback from both staff and peers 24/7. They can then practice making use of the feedback they’re getting over and over while they’re at camp. THIS type of teaching is what “sticks” – it’s what transfers back to home and school and extracurriculars. Are “social skills groups” helpful? Sure. But camp is even MORE helpful – especially when the camp is specifically designed to provide kids with an opportunity to focus on their peer relationships and then practice making those connections even stronger. That’s what we do at Akeela.