Children's summer camp brings back joy to kids living with autism
After summer camps were forced to cancel in 2020, the Children’s Autism Summer camp has returned with expanded programs across Alberta's capital city.
Children’s Autism Services of Edmonton is growing its Nature Camp programs in a variety of ways.
“Each camp is very individual and we really look to the needs of the camper. For some kids, being in a big crowd is not a positive environment and for other kids, that is what they are searching for. All of the campers have one-to-one support,” said Scott Wilson, CAS family liaison
The Nature Camps are designed to help children develop a wide range of skills and soak in the benefits of outdoor learning.
Naomi Goonewardene says her son has attended the summer camp every year since he was diagnosed with autism at the age of three.
“It is a really awesome camp to come to. It is great that we have an opportunity to come here. It is a safe space where kids can be themselves and be happy. I know that I can drop him off here and come back later and he is going to be doing fine,” said the mother.
“If we didn’t have a safe space like this I don’t know what the other options would be,” she added.
While COVID-19 restrictions were in place, the mother said her son missed playing games and making friends. Without the camps, her son was no longer able to attend field trips – an important summer activity for Gabriel.
“He asks every year to come back to this camp. He wants to have dates and know exactly how long he is going to be here and he looks forward to it,” she said.
She says her son thriving in a camp brings joy to her life – a feeling shared by other parents.
Nadine Noseworthy’s daughter, Dhalia, was diagnosed with autism and has excess cerebral spinal fluid.
“It is really only the parents going through the same thing that really get it. It is really difficult explaining why you are so tired, why we have to leave, and when we are meeting our kids' needs to a parent who doesn’t understand when they don’t face those same challenges,” she said.
When the camp was announced this summer, Noseworthy said it was a “sigh of relief” for both the parents and children.
“A big part of what the kids were lacking during COVID-19 was more opportunity for pair to pair interactions and just a safe space where they can play,” said Noseworthy.
The camp has four different sites: Maier Centre West Campus, Rundle Park Outdoor Nature Exploration Camps, Kinsmen Park Outdoor Nature Exploration Camps, and Capilano Community League Camps. CAS also offers pre-teen and teen camps for those ages 11 and up.
Campers will spend the day doing activities to promote engagement with nature and building trusting relationships with peers.
The children will be supported with one-on-one staff and the camp will run five days a week for five weeks.
With files from CTV Edmonton’s Dan Grummett
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.