For 11 months every year, youngsters with autism and their families take it an hour at a time, balancing demands of everyday life with the special needs of a child born with a condition that sets them apart, making them painfully sensitive to noise, lights or even the feeling of clothing on their bodies. For parents and siblings, the desire to nurture and help can be exhausting, patience stretched beyond imagination. For the child, often paralyzed by an inability to communicate, the world can be a lonely place.
But for one month every summer, thanks to a summer camp organized by REACH and since 2008, run in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the world of autism is about freedom and joy and connecting. Stress, so intense it sometimes overwhelms, diminishes.
This year’s theme “The Amazing World of Animals” put 42 autistic children and another 25 siblings or children of teachers and volunteers, in touch with dogs, cats, monkeys, birds. They visited Ardastra Gardens, Conservation Centre and Zoo and they related to another environment where conversation wasn’t required to communicate. They also had swimming, crafts, learned how to make pizza, even a Bahamian cooking day.
“The camp was a huge success,” said Teri-Gaye Vassell, program coordinator and 16-year special education teacher. A founding member of REACH, she saw the need for a summer camp and for the past 11 years, that camp — totally free for campers — has provided a safe, stress-free, learning environment for youngsters with autism. For the past four years, the Ministry of Education has assisted with staffing. It’s all about the children with special needs, she says. “They’re with kids that are just like them, and with siblings to make them more comfortable. And this year we took on Garshea Simmons, an adult with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as a trainee assistant. It’s definitely a feeling of understanding..They love it.”
On Friday, July 27, the camp at Gavin Tynes Primary held its annual closing ceremony.
Mario Carey, president of REACH, congratulated campers, admiring their drawings of elephants, monkeys and other zoo animals, raving about the increase in the camp enrollment. “We love when the numbers increase as it shows that awareness is growing in the community and far more parents are involved.” Carey, a highly successful Realtor whose 15 year-old son Cole has Asperger’s syndrome, a lesser form of autism on the disorder spectrum, has dedicated years to REACH. He used Friday’s ceremony to urge parents of all children with special needs and the public to attend bi-monthly meetings Wednesday evenings at the organization’s office, Dewgard Plaza, Palmdale.
For parents, the camp allowed them to carry on with work and responsibilities, knowing their child was safe with six teachers, six aides and volunteers.
“As a parent, to have that program – it’s such a weight for that to be off our shoulders,” said Betty, whose son has attended the camp for two years.
Autism has quickly become one of the fastest and more common of the neural biological disorders which is often characterized by impaired social interaction and communication. It is estimated that one in every 88 children is born with autism.
Linda Bain-McCaulsky knows those statistics well. A parent with a 12-year-old son whose severe condition made it difficult for him to even attend the camp, still spent time there herself, along with her daughter, Alexis Williams, a teacher’s aide who has been assisting the REACH summer camp for 10 years.
“The unconditional love from these kids is just amazing,” said McCaulsky, reflecting on Williams’ summer dedication to the organisation she herself helped to found. “She gets so much joy seeing their eyes light up at a smallest accomplishment.”
By Diane Phillips & Associates
Captions:
SAYING GOODBYE TO SUMMER CAMP — Some 67 youngsters, including 42 with autism, participated in the month-long “Amazing World of Animals” summer camp operated by REACH with the assistance of the Ministry of Education. On Friday, campers showed the love at a closing ceremony at Gavin Tynes Primary School. The camp was free and helped those who interacted with autistic children to understand the meaning of unconditional love. (Photo by Michelle Curtis, DPA)
REACH SUMMER CAMP — With the number of children diagnosed with autism standing at one in 88, the summer camp at Gavin Tynes Primary, supported by REACH and the Ministry of Education, is a lifesaver, providing care and recreation for 42 youngsters with autism and another 25 siblings or children of teachers and volunteers. Here, campers celebrate Independence with Bahamian pride day along with REACH President Mario Carey, standing rear. The camp held its closing ceremony July 27. (Photo by Michelle Curtis, DPA)
