It’s not groundbreaking but it’s worth pointing out —
You can’t simply throw a kid who needs extra support into the typical summer day camp experience and expect them to have a good time.
The typical camp experience assumes kids have ample skills for negotiating a variety of play activities, social interactions, and emotions.
And if your child struggles with those skills, camp is going to be overwhelming rather than fun.
Does this mean that summer camp isn’t an option for them?
Here at Bearfoot OT in San Francisco, we say, “NOPE! There should be summer camp options for ALL kids!”
This includes neurodivergent kids who think, learn, and relate differently due to ADHD, Autism, or sensory processing differences. Furthermore, some kids just need more time and support to integrate into new groups of peers.
In fact, the extended time and motivating activities of summer camp are an immersive way for your child to expand their skills rapidly.
That’s why you might consider a summer camp offered by an occupational therapy provider like Bearfoot OT.
As trained occupational therapists, we’re able to meet kids at their skill level and preferences and create camp experiences that take into consideration the different needs or preferences of neurodivergent kids.
Even better, summer camp with an occupational therapist means camp activities are designed to give your child a boost in important areas such as play skills, motor skills, social skills, and self-regulation. Keep reading to look behind the scenes of skill development that happens in our outdoor occupational therapy summer camp in Bay Area parks.
Summer Camp for Building Play Skills
Having a blast through all sorts of play opportunities is at the VERY TOP of our camp agenda! We hope kids leave camp with more interests and a better ability to play on their own and with others.
For neurodiverse kids, play skills look a little different.
For instance, they might enjoy different activities or need support to find play interests. As a general rule, neurodiverse children expand their play skills when they are supported to try new activities that build on their interests within a natural context³.
More than just being fun, play builds the brain. Decades of research about summer camps in general show that the play experiences of summer camps contribute to self-esteem, independence, leadership, friendships, and exploration².
To expand play skills and encourage associated all these extra benefits, we offer supportive free play each day of summer camp.
This means campers are actively involved in picking their own activities and outdoor adventures. Staff members are still close at hand to provide guidance, support, and safety.
This magical time allows kids to dig into play skills of creativity, adventure, and leadership while honoring each child’s unique play preferences.
Growth Galore for Social Skills
When you think of camp…
You probably think of a group of kids smiling with friends while playing camp games, sharing a meal, or working side-by-side on a project. That’s because building friendships and comradery is a big part of the camp experience!
For a neurodiverse child, the social dynamics can make a typical camp overwhelming or stressful for a child who struggles with social skills⁴.
Here’s where the Bearfoot summer camp experience with small groups really shines. As trained occupational therapy providers, we help bridge the social skills gap. This is not just being a playtime referee, we provide guidance to progress those important social skills.
Social skills include:
Sharing
Flexibility
Meeting others & self-introductions
Teamwork
Patience
Compassion
Group dynamics
Turn-taking
It’s pretty cool to see kids form new friendships where they feel loved, connected, and safe to explore emerging social skills.
Motor Development of Strength, Coordination, and Endurance
Summer camp gets kids moving!
Which is great for building physical fitness in kids. Because let’s be honest, kids don’t go to the gym and “work out.” Instead, they build up strength, endurance, and coordination through play. This is especially true when it comes to all the ways kids move when playing outdoors.
Unfortunately, for kids who aren’t especially coordinated or strong, the comparisons and competition of traditional summer camp activities can feel hard.
No problem!
Here at the Bearfoot OT summer camps, we move our bodies to get stronger but without the social comparison, judgment, or sense of failure. In fact, the trees, rocks, and scenery of the Bay Area parks where we meet provide tons of ways to support motor development.
This looks like:
Building strength, endurance, and core strength through exploring the woods on hikes.
Moving our bodies in all different ways while climbing trees, jumping, or stomping through the sand.
Group games that get everyone laughing, moving, and feeling included.
Nature activities and craft projects that build fine motor skills.
It’s a big dose of motor development without boring reps or feeling self-conscious.
Practice for Self-Regulation & Managing Emotions!
The big groups, busy schedule, and high demands of a traditional camp can lead to overwhelm and distress for kids who struggle with self-regulation or big emotions.
Emotional regulation is how to become aware of, and more importantly, react to situations and emotions⁵. It’s how you calm yourself down, delay gratification, manage disappointment, or work through conflict with others⁶.
Being mindful of the self-regulation challenges for kids, we’ve curated a camp atmosphere that supports kids' emotional and sensory needs.
This is possible because:
We keep group sizes small
The outdoors make emotional regulation easier⁷
Our summer camp schedule balances structure, downtime, and sensory needs
On top of creating an atmosphere that is supportive, Bearfoot summer camp actually is designed to build and expand the emotional regulation skills of kids.
That’s because the camp is run by occupational therapy practitioners who are trained in teaching kids how to better self-regulate and manage their emotions.
Summer camp self-regulation activities look like:
Groups activities to understand the emotions of others
Offering activities with sensory or emotional needs in mind
Storytime books & projects that help kids understand their emotions
On top of that, we help guide parents with tips and ideas to support self-regulation through ongoing communication and ideas for home.
All of these activities help kids better understand and respond to their own emotions and sensory needs even after the camp day has wrapped up.
Summer Camp Fun & Games that Offer Long-Term Benefits
Not sure who is tired, dirty, or happy by the end of a week of summer camp — us or the campers.
And all the effort is worth it! With; every camp friendship, craft, and hike, we see kids who are gaining important skills for a lifetime of learning. In the end, we’re passionate about summer camp because it blends together some of our biggest values.
🧡The benefits of being in nature.
💛Access to play & adventure for ALL kids.
💚OT sessions that connect with home through parent communication.
Head to our website to learn more about the Summer Camp options offered at Bearfoot OT in San Francisco, CA.
Sign up for our email list to be the first to know the next time summer camp registration is open.
Check out the research that informs our work!
References
Lewis, D. M. (2020). Occupational Therapy and Accessibility in the Outdoors and Summer Camps. [Doctoral project, University of St Augustine for Health Sciences]. SOAR @ USA: Student Capstone Projects Collection. https://doi.org/10.46409/sr.IMPZ5077
Clark, M.K., & Nwokah, E.E. (2010). Play and Learning in Summer Camps for Children with Special Needs. American Journal of Play, 3, 238-261.
Sunhwa Jung & Diane M. Sainato (2013) Teaching play skills to young children with autism, Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 38:1, 74-90, DOI: 10.3109/13668250.2012.732220
Ibrahim, A., & Cronin, K.A. (2020). The Impact of Summer Camp on Social Skills for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Education and Practice, 11, 129-137.
Housman, D.K. The importance of emotional competence and self-regulation from birth: a case for the evidence-based emotional cognitive social early learning approach. ICEP 11, 13 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40723-017-0038-6
Eisenberg, N., & Sulik, M. J. (2012). Emotion-Related Self-Regulation in Children. Teaching of Psychology, 39(1), 77–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628311430172
Richardson, M., McEwan, K., Maratos, F. et al. Joy and Calm: How an Evolutionary Functional Model of Affect Regulation Informs Positive Emotions in Nature. Evolutionary Psychological Science 2, 308–320 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-016-0065-5
Comments