Camps for Kids with Special Needs

Camps for Kids with Special Needs

If you are looking for a place where your child who has special needs can feel like they fit in, make friends, build confidence and gain independence, you may want to consider a special needs summer program. For children with special needs, camp can often be a welcome change of environments that can be life changing! Here are just a few of the amazing special needs summer camp programs.

Day Camps

Endeavor Program @Crestwood Country Day Camp

Endeavor is a program offered at Crestwood Country Day Camp, a traditional day camp located on Long Island, designed for children grades 2- 8 that fosters social and emotional growth. Children who attend the program may have a diagnosis or no diagnosis but many don’t thrive in the traditional camp environment and exhibit the need for support socially. Endeavor will allow campers to feel connected to others and feel a sense of belonging in the camp community.

New Country Day Camp @ 14th Street Y

New Country Day Camp, one of the 14th Street Y’s summer camps, offers an inclusion program for children entering Kindergarten through 8th grade. The camp is located at the Henry Kaufman campgrounds on Staten Island and welcomes children with high-functioning cognitive, intellectual or developmental differences such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADD/ADHD, learning disabilities and sensory & language delays. Campers are fully integrated into the camper program and the camp works to create an ICP, individual camper plans, for each child.

Overnight Camps

Camp Akeela

Camp Akeela is a coed overnight camp in Vermont that supports the social growth of their campers and where“quirky campers thrive.” Akeela serves children grades 3-10. While some campers have ADD/ADHD, Asperger’s or an Autism Spectrum Disorder, other campers don’t have a formal diagnosis. All campers share that they are looking to be part of a caring community where they can meet friends that understand them. Campers who attend Akeela enjoy peer interaction but can struggle to make meaningful social connections. At camp, children will practice social skills and gain a feeling of belonging while participating in an array of camp activities.

Camp Ramapo 

Camp Ramapo, located in Rhinebeck, NY, is a coed overnight camp for children ages 6-16 with social, emotional or learning challenges, including children on the autism spectrum. The structured program fosters independence, teamwork, positive social skills, increased self-esteem and a sense of community. One of the goals of camp is for children to leave slightly more independent from when they arrived. Campers enjoy traditional camp activities and also work on everyday skills such as making their beds, working in the garden, making a salad and setting a table.

Summit Camp 

Summit Camp is a coed overnight camp in Pennsylvania for children ages 8-19 with a variety of developmental, social, emotional and learning issues. Campers have diagnoses that can include Asperger’s, ADD/ADHD, verbal and non-verbal learning disabilities, HFA, speech and language issues and sensory integration issues. Some children may also have gaps in executive function, Tourette’s syndrome or Bi-Polar disorder. All campers have difficulty in peer friendships and can lack social skills to maintain these relationships. The camp provides opportunities to develop and maintain social skills with the goals of building self confidence and making lasting friendships, all while participating in fun summer camp activities.

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Adventuring Portal

<p><a name="m_-1473885667065203258__Hlk72147528"></a>Adventuring Portal runs Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) games for kids.   We have created a safe online space for tweens and teens to learn and play D&D.</p> <p>Our D&D Summer Camp session are a one-week experience.  Monday – Friday.  Each day will be 3 hours of gaming (with 2 breaks build in).  15 total gaming hours for $180.  If you have played with us before, you are entitled to 10% off.   </p> <p>Need your kids, nieces or nephews, grand kids or neighbor’s kids to be occupied for a bit so you can get work done & take care of your to-do list? Maybe your tween or teen is still a bit isolated and craves connection with their peers? Whether your teen/tween has played D&D before or is brand-new to the experience, this safe space brings players together to have fun and solve problems as a team in ways few other online opportunities do.</p> <p>All our games focus on experiential learning.   Our players leave knowing all the basic game play as well as experiencing: teamwork, bravery, compassion, generosity, negotiation, improvisation, gamer etiquette, strategy, critical thinking, problem solving, cartography and probability - all through online D&D adventuring!</p> <p>We are an inclusive organization and welcome gamers who are LGBTQIA+ and those on any spectrum. </p> <p>All girls’ groups available. </p> <p>I am a parent, a certified elementary school and middle school math teacher and last summer in the midst of the mess started Adventuring Portal, an online Dungeons & Dragons business for kids. There are so many benefits to playing D&D and I hope you will consider us as a great way for your child to safely socialize, grow as people and have a great time.</p>

Young Actors at Strasberg

<p>Young Actors at Strasberg offers a comprehensive array of acting programs for students in grades 2 – 12. Classes provide kids and teens with a foundation in Lee Strasberg's Method Acting and the tools to succeed in the professional industry – all while maintaining a fun and playful environment. Programs are tailored to encompass students at all levels, from those just beginning their acting journey to Broadway veterans and professional child actors. Young Actors at Strasberg alumni include Lady Gaga, Sophia Lillis, Angelina Jolie, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Rosario Dawson!</p> <p>Young Actors Programs are available online and in-person at our New York Campus, located in Union Square. Saturday, After-School and Online classes are offered during the traditional school year (Fall, Winter, and Spring) and Monday through Friday day camps and intensives are held in July and August.</p> <p><strong>About The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute:</strong></p> <p>Founded in 1969 by Lee and Anna Strasberg, The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute is the only school that teaches Lee Strasberg's work in its complete and authentic form. The Institute's goal is to provide students with a craft that will help them create a reality and respond truthfully in imaginary circumstances, regardless of the style or form of material being used. LSTFI is proud to have award-winning alumni from around the world working as writers, directors, and actors in all mediums.</p>

The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" data-sheets-value="{" data-sheets-userformat="{">The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center offers year-round, community-based dance and music programming in a fully inclusive and nurturing environment, located in the heart of the Brooklyn Cultural District. The School’s diverse and professional faculty provides progressive and non-competitive instruction with all of our classes accompanied by live music. Though we are a non-recital school, there are opportunities for students to perform and for parents to see their dancers in action.</span></p>