Summer Camp 2025

Returning as a second year counselor the summer after my Junior year of high school I felt confident. I knew what to expect and had learned the strategies and skills I would need to support my camper this year. I’m not sure if there’s a word to describe how wrong I was about that, but in reality, I had no idea what was to come. I didn’t operate a single pool lift this summer, but instead I immediately jumped into the role of supporting a different high support needs camper, continuing to learn all about: non-speaking communication, elopement, self-injurious behaviors (SIB), stimming, and how tight you really can be hugged. This summer adapting activities to make them accessible meant something different. It meant visual schedules, timers, chewies, and sensory breaks. It meant going to the park to swing in the same shady spot every day. It meant piggyback rides upon piggyback rides every time we were at the pool, and laughing so hard my core would be sore by the end of the day. Going to camp every day didn’t feel like “work”, instead it felt like I had the opportunity to spend the day with my person. The person who, no matter what else was going on, always seems to know exactly what I’m thinking about and understands me completely.