SUMMIT: CAMP, TEEN TRAVEL, WEEKENDER, and YOUNG ADULT LIFE SKILLS PROGRAMS
For youth with needs such as ADHD/ADD – HFA – Learning Differences
Under the umbrella of specialized educational and therapeutic services, we find there are many young people whose needs are diverse, skills are diverse, and who encounter as many challenges from the responses of others as they do from within.
Summit’s programs are a unique haven for those children, teens, and young adults who may find it exceptionally difficult, even in the world of therapeutic services, to discover a place and a peer group that really meets their skill set and yet also can support their challenges. Young people who can communicate with peers, but often fixate on one topic or find it hard to share interests with peers their own age, for example. Children who although are entering into middle school find it hard to cope with frustration and sharing space with others despite their same-age peers mastery of these emotions. Teens and young adults who would absolutely love to have a summer job working at the movie theater or the mall – but whom still need that bit of extra training and support to really have that be a successful experience in future years.
At Summit, these young people find a place to shine. Yet many families and professionals don’t even know we exist!
When our parents think of specialized services for their youngsters, programs like camp, travel, or weekend retreat options usually aren’t the first that come to mind. Parents’ concerns usually fall between whether a “typical” program will be able to support their child’s needs and whether a program that solely serves children with disabilities will be too restrictive, and so summer camp just doesn’t seem to be a match. This is why we reach out to our professional community. We know how important your awareness of Summit is to spreading the success we have had in helping these kids (and their families) find a place of success, joy, and most of all importance- friendship.
Those of you who dedicate your lives to working with our populations, as we do, understand the importance of a feeling for kids that is belonging. The young people who attend Summit programs are very aware- perhaps hyper-aware- of the challenges they have faced to fit in. For their parents, it is often a source of great sadness that their child experiences exclusion or doesn’t have meaningful connections, or may even be avoided by his or her peers. Thus the main focus of our program has been to create opportunities for these youngsters to really experience social success through a variety of avenues- meeting other same age peers they can relate to and that have mutual interests and skills, challenging social learning through activities, group discussions, and immersion in social activities, and providing staff support that makes this feasible.
We hope you may have some child, teen, or young adult amongst your cases that you think of as I describe our program. A client or family that may be experiencing some of these challenges- and who it may be hard to find support for because of the unique composition of their needs and skills. We have found that our most successful campers come to us recommended by fellow professionals in our field because they have the knowledge and skill to assess the child’s need and readiness for this experience.
If you would be interested in more information we are happy to provide a mailed booklet of information for yourself or to pass along to your families. Feel free to contact us at any time.