Donegal Democrat, 09 July 2009
A group of Donegal parents is organising a camp for children with autism, thanks to support from Gabrielle's Diary Charity Ball and the North-West 10K.
The Autism Family Support Group decided to run the summer activities this year when the parents received word that the Health Service Executive was no longer running its summer camp for children with special needs.
"HSE summer camps are all being cut way back,” says Breda McCloskey of the support group. "My child would have been on the HSE summer camp these last three years and this year it is just not available to him."
The programmes organised by the support group are open to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which covers all conditions on the autism spectrum. The parents behind the camp all have children with conditions somewhere on that spectrum.
"We have a fair idea of what are children are able to do and not able to do," Breda said. There will be professionals at the camp too. Families and siblings are also invited to join most of the activities, she said. "We're trying to keep it as low cost as possible so that we're not excluding anybody," Breda said.
The summer programme includes:
- Family Day on July 19 at Oakfield Park, Raphoe, with families meeting at the park at 2pm and snacks provided (book by July 10);
- a day at Barron Top Farm, including horseback riding, on July 26, with the bus leaving Mr.
- Chippie at 12 noon and bus leaving Lifford at 12.30pm (book by July 17);
- Camp Cara, August 10 and 12 (book by July 24);
trip to cinema and McDonald's on July 15 (book by July 31);
- Aura Leisure Centre Letterkenny swimming lessons in August (book by July 24);
- Gartan Outdoor Pursuit and Camp Cara teenagers at a date to be determined for children age 12 and older.
Camp Cara will run two sessions, one for children age 4 to 8 and another for children age 8 to 12. Developed by a qualified and experienced teacher, the camp is designed to support children with ASD to develop social skills and to support and develop their emotional understanding. The camp will include structured and fun activities in small peer-appropriate groups within a supportive environment. And parents will receive an outline of the programme and skills taught to support and reinforce learning at home.
"All the camps are designed with a view to making life as enjoyable as possible," Breda said. She described them as "taster camps," and said the popularity of different events will help the group design its year-round programme.
"We're trying to find out what's the most popular, what's the most beneficial," she said. If certain events - swimming classes, for example - prove very successful, the group plans to run them throughout the year.
"We're trying to take up some of the slack so that families aren't losing out," Breda said.
Parents have joined the support group from around Donegal, and the Autism Family Support Group meets the first Wednesday of the month at 8pm at Arena 7 in Letterkenny. "We're open to anyone and everyone that wants to come along," Breda said.
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