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Family Situation: Single working mom with 11 year old son with autism. Wants to send son to a special needs camp where he can grow and be social. Kyle stays in extended day care so that she can work a full day. She has to drive 300 miles a week to make things work and is having a hard time. Kyle was adopted from Russia when he was 7 months old.
Income: $45,724.00
Granted: $500 for camp

Letter from family:

Hi Amy,
Your check for $500 really helped me out this summer. As I told you before, I am a single working mom with a terrific 12 year old son who happens to have Autism. Kyle was born in Russia and we adopted him when he was 7 months of age. Kyle had a rough start in life. Throughout the years I have found lots of great therapies for him including: speech and feeding, sensory integration, music, Special Olympics and a private school for children with Autism. It hasn't been easy but it is rewarding to see all the progress Kyle has made.

As you know with Autism, social skills are a key deficit. Kyle wants to have friends but doesn't always respond to peers in an age appropriate manner. The social gap is widening between him and typical peers. For this reason, it was time to look for a special needs camp. Kyle attended 5 weeks at a special needs camp designed to meet the needs of children, who have different types of social skill deficits such as High Functioning Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Nonverbal Learning Disabilities and PDD-NOS. The camp is called Camp Expressions and this is only its second year. Here, Kyle safely enjoyed a fun summer camp experience while improving and practicing his social skills through carefully selected interactions with typical peers. Last week he asked me "How many more days of camp?" I thought he was counting down the days because he wasn't having fun. He said "Because this might be my new camp." He was having fun! "Formed in consultation with professionals in the field and an active parent steering committee, Expressions provides a much needed program for the specific needs of its campers. In addition to a program full of age appropriate games and activities, Expressions will incorporate activities designed to develop skills in the following areas: conversation, team-building, non-verbal communication, anger management, frustration tolerance, friendship making, problem solving, emotional development & opportunities for personal creativity.

Other activities in this camp program will include arts & crafts, movement and dance, swimming, computers, nature, team challenge activities (including activities on our low-ropes team challenge course) hiking, stream exploration and more. " (taken from their web site: http://www.campconcepts.org/expressions.html)

This type of camp is needed in our community. My son wants to be just like everyone else and have fun at camp. This camp allows him to fit in with other kids who are like him. He goes to camp without a shadow (therapeutic staff support) which gives him a feeling of independence. Overall, this camp experience was a positive one for Kyle and I will sign him up again next year.

I am trying to give my son every opportunity to succeed and the foundation to be as independent as he can be when he is an adult. Isn't that what every parent hopes for?

Thanks again,
Sharon

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