Summer camp, and any new care environment for that matter, is incredibly stressful for our family. More often than not it is met with big feelings and challenging behaviors. Having a true partnership with the summer camp meant a lot of preparation throughout the year but also an incredible summer filled with fun and wonderful memories. I need to give a shoutout to Camp JCC in Raleigh for embracing the true meaning of inclusion for neurodivergent kiddos.

Published originally on July 26, 2024 on WRAL.com, this article discusses how we worked with our son’s summer camp to ensure everyone had a great summer.

My 6-year-old son has severe hyperactive ADHD, attention deficit hyperactive disorder. With this comes a delay in his social emotional development and a struggle to transition into new environments.

As his mom, this is one of my biggest challenges. How can I trust that a new environment will be one in which he can operate? Will he feel safe? Will he have fun? Will the counselors/teachers understand how to communicate with him? How to understand the messages he is giving and staying two steps ahead of him in order to avoid the dreaded lizard brain? If he does melt down, will they know how to deal with it?

My son just finished Kindergarten and to say that the year was rough would be a glorious understatement. Too often, he would become dysregulated at school and this resulted in many suspensions and even phone calls to RPD on multiple occasions. With the incredibly challenging year we’ve just had, we are sending him to his second summer at camp. The same camp we sent him to last summer and also, not a cake walk. We were all anxious about the decision to sign him up but two facts remain true:

1. We both work and we need childcare.
2. We desperately want him to have a positive camp experience especially after all the knocks his confidence took during Kindergarten.

We signed him up for Camp JCC at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Raleigh. My daughter has always loved it and we were confident that, with the right support, he would too.

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