Creative Ideas for our Summertime

[Teaching3bears]

My adult sons’ with severe special needs have been going to a day camp for several years and love it.  This year, they lost their funding ☹️so no camp.  They are going to be so sad.  I want to replace this with another experience.  I need ideas: it can be learning, volunteering or vacation time.  
Unfortunately, they are very limited by their disabilities, behavior and medical problems.  We took them to volunteer watering plants last summer and they sometimes were willing to hold the hose while I held it over the plants.   They just can’t do a lot and are often not willing , though they are proud and enjoy it tremendously.  
  In the past, we have traveled and gone on road trips.  This has become increasingly impossible to do with them for various reasons.  A beach vacation is not a possibility because one of them eats sand, they can’t swim so have to be watched constantly near water and it really ends up not being fun.  Their younger brother will be away for two 2-week intervals this summer and I thought to go away during those times.  I thought either to go to a cabin somewhere near lots of nature trails and hike every day.  They can hike.  I feel like hiking every day might reduce their seizures also because it has in the past.  The other option I thought of is to volunteer with them picking fruits and vegetables on an organic farm. The problem is that I think the farms want people who are productive and my sons basically need help to do everything and they do it slowly so the four of us will contribute much much less to the farm than other volunteers.  Still, I think they will feel good about themselves doing something like this and I want to see if I can make it work.  
Any other ideas?  My sons are also very intellectual and love to learn.  Unfortunately, they behave very badly and it is hard to bring them places.  Anyways, just looking for ideas.  Be as creative as you like.

[Rosie_0801]

WWOOFing is volunteer, and you only get paid in food and board, so the bosses may not need to be so efficient. If you choose property owners that aren't actually commercial farms, you might find a suitable fit. When my aunt had property, she used to host and often had jobs like pulling nails out of planks that needed doing but didn't care how long it took.

[Clarita]

The nature parks near me look for volunteers to help do stuff around the park sometimes. I don't think they care how efficient you are and when I did a day with my old company it was simple stuff like pick up trash, spread out the mulch, etc. I think they have both opportunities that expect good work and opportunities that are more whatever happens is OK.

[bookbard]

1 hour ago, Teaching3bears said:

My adult sons’ with severe special needs have been going to a day camp for several years and love it.  This year, they lost their funding ☹️so no camp.

That sucks. I'm so sorry.

 

[HomeAgain]

This is a hard one.  I think the nature trails are good.  We have done trips to national parks that are just filled with trails.  Acadia is actually one of our favorites because it also has a very decent bus system to get people around to different areas on the island.

I don't know about your area, but around here more 'sensory' walks are popping up.  They weren't around when ds would have benefited from them, so we ended up investing in ninja tension lines(?) for our trees, where he could walk on one while holding on to another, swing from rings, climb ladders...as he got older, we could adjust them.  And then we added a swinging chair and eventually a hammock.  Course, the child has ugly allergies so all that and he can only use it 2 months a year.  LOL  But he did love it, especially during the pandemic.

You might also look toward sports.  Apparently it's a well kept secret here that there are leagues for those with different needs.  They're more relaxed and mostly just a chance to get into the pitch or field to have fun each week. 

 

[mom31257]

I'm sorry you lost the funding!  What kind of activities did they do at the day camp?  Could you plan some days like those yourself? 

My nephew had seizures and severe developmental delays. When he came to my house in the summer, I planned themed days with his favorite activities and things. We would visit local farms and local nature preserves or state parks. I planned themed days with games, crafts, etc. 

Could you do themed weeks? What are some of their favorite things to do and eat?

If you are near enough to go to West VA and VA, we just visited New River Gorge and Shenandoah and loved hiking in those national parks. 

I agree with looking for local sports leagues. My nephew had seizures and was limited in what he could do, and he loved the sports groups he was able to participate in. My sister did not like Special Olympics because they had set rules that made it difficult for my nephew to do events.

[DawnM]

Could you afford some of the camp?   I ask because my son (6 year old with behavior issues) went to camp about half the summer, but those weeks wore him out and he was better with doing very little on the off weeks.    

This summer, he will still be in the day treatment program and they said they run summers more like camp.   And it is covered through his medicaid.   YAY!   But that is only for this summer.

Are there any other camps for special needs kids available?   Have you asked around?

Are there any other families from the camps you attended that you could connect with and plan some time with them?   Maybe trade off planning activities once or twice a week?

Just kind of brainstorming here.

[Faith-manor]

I don't know where you live so this suggestion is just being tossed out generally for anyone who might be in Michigan or visiting and wants some ideas. There is a new, sensory trail specifically designed for kids on the spectrum (which makes me think it would work for many children with a varieties of disabilities) in Rochester Hills (a northern suburb of Detroit).

The trail is in this park. 

departments/parks_and_natural_resources/trailsandparks/avonnaturestudyarea.php

 

[Teaching3bears]

The camp lost its funding so it’s not running at all.  There are some other camps for special needs kids but they don’t take adults.  I have really looked into the day programs and they have tried a few out but were rejected because of very bad behavior.  I think they are all underfunded so they can’t afford a good place and so there are too many people in a small dark room and it is noisy.  The camp was in a large bright school.   I don’t know how to find other parents with kids like mine.  I have tried.  There are no support groups.  I gave my email to another mom at the camp last year but she did not email me. I did not see any other parents.  What they liked about the camp was the attention from the staff, the other kids, the spirit.   We will go on day trips through the summer but I wanted to have something planned for the two 2-week periods.

[freesia]

Are there any sheltered work places for your sons to join? If they like being productive, I would think it would be a good road to consider. 

[Teaching3bears]

13 minutes ago, freesia said:

Are there any sheltered work places for your sons to join? If they like being productive, I would think it would be a good road to consider. 

I don’t know if they qualify because their disabilities are so great but I would like that for them and will look into it.  Maybe not in the summer, but maybe starting once a week during the year.

[SKL]

I don't have any specific suggestions, but when my kids were camp age, I used to google up a listing of area camps each year, and you could filter for specific attrubites, and I think special needs was one such attribute.  Maybe try a google search like "summer camps 2024 [your state or general location] special needs."

Is it possible to include swim lessons this summer?  If at all possible, I'd try to do that, even if it needed to be done separately for each child.

[SKL]

39 minutes ago, Teaching3bears said:

There are some other camps for special needs kids but they don’t take adults.

Can you ask these camps for suggestions for adult camps, or for contact info for organizations that could provide this info?

[freesia]

25 minutes ago, Teaching3bears said:

I don’t know if they qualify because their disabilities are so great but I would like that for them and will look into it.  Maybe not in the summer, but maybe starting once a week during the year.

I worked briefly in group homes for autistic people. They were pretty disabled. Are you connected with your state’s disability office?

[Innisfree]

Is there a local ARC group? I know the specific issues might not seem right for that group, but in our area ARC is a general umbrella, not necessarily limited to intellectual disability. They might be able to provide contact information for some appropriate programs, either for summer or throughout the year.

[ScoutTN]

What do they like to do besides hike? What do they think is fun? 

[Teaching3bears]

9 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

What do they like to do besides hike? What do they think is fun? 

They like reading (but we do that all year), going to shows (we do that a lot on weekends), going to new places, walking around cities/ downtown, meeting new people and being given the opportunity to do new things even though they usually can’t tolerate doing it.  

[pinball]

2 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

They like reading (but we do that all year), going to shows (we do that a lot on weekends), going to new places, walking around cities/ downtown, meeting new people and being given the opportunity to do new things even though they usually can’t tolerate doing it.  

Clean up XYZ Days…Google “clean up” along with your city, town, neighborhood, beaches, waterfronts, etc. There are often organized days where lots of volunteers gather to work for a day. You could also reach out to a parks & rec dept and see if they’d organize one.

Free Summer Concerts…Google these too, along with name of your town, etc. Lots of places have outdoor concerts in summer. You’d be in open air and could leave whenever you needed.

Library Summer programs…these might not be appropriate for your sons, but sometimes there are visitors (ie: mobile zoos or performers) that you might be able to find OTHER places the visitors are going that might be more appropriate.

Respite Care…I’m not sure if you’re eligible for it but perhaps you can call and see if the respite providers have any ideas for you

“3 Bears Summer Project” Pick an organization to collect for. As an example, dog & cat rescues always need old towels and sheets. Connect with an org and then do a neighborhood collection. Pass out flyers and ask to put out towels and sheets on a certain day, then collect on that day. Ask libraries and friendly businesses if you can leave a box with a sign in their lobbies and tell them you will collect once a week. Your kids can map out the different routes to each collection place and figure out the fastest and/shortest way to do their weekly collections.

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

I suspect the biggest roadblock to everything is that they’re adults with behaviors.  There is precious little out there for disabled adults with significant behaviors especially those with near normal or normal cognitive functioning. 

[aug17girl]

What about volunteering with a farm or garden that has more of a community focus like one that grows food for the local food bank? They might be less focused on efficiency than a for profit farm.

[SKL]

I hope you find something by asking around.

I have a friend who is very involved in local services for adults with autism and other disabilities.  The organization definitely works with adults with behaviors etc.  They run coffee shops, do farm work (making honey for example), and a bunch of other things.  (I follow them on facebook.)  And I know of a "consulting" business that employs autistic adults in catering etc.  But these are very local, and I don't have knowledge of broader contacts.