CAMP SPEERS-ELJABAR YMCA SPECIAL NEEDS

The ACCES (All Children Can Experience Speers-Eljabar) Program at Camp Speers-Eljabar YMCA is a mainstreaming program that enables campers with mild to moderate developmental disabilities to participate in traditional camping activities.  ACCES Campers are fully included in daily activities with typically developing campers.  ACCES Campers are housed together with a lower staff to camper ratio (1:3) to ensure that their personal care needs are appropriately supported. 

We focus on guiding and empowering campers with special needs to gain independence, build relationships, master activity skills and successfully socialize with both typically and atypically developing peers.

A Typical ACCES Camper… 

·         Has a Mild to Moderate Mental Disability.

·         Is between 8 and 19 years old.

·         Can independently, or with verbal cues, feed, bathe, and toilet.

·         Is able to function successfully within a 1:3 staff to camper ratio.

·         Able to adjust to changes in routine/environment with relative ease.

·         Has the ability to effectively communicate needs to a counselor, may be verbal or with a communication device.

Camp Daily Life

Coaching periods – campers select those activities that they most want to experience and learn more about and participate in those activities for 1 – 2 hours each day for a week. Our progressive approach ensures that they build upon the knowledge and skills they acquired during previous days – guaranteeing challenge and achievement and keeping them engaged and enthusiastic. 

Cabin Time – cabin groups work together to decide what activities they want to do that day.  Not only do they get to experience a full range of options, the emphasis on group decision making causes the cabin group to develop stronger cohesiveness and appreciation of each member of the group. 

Discovery Hour - Campers choose from amongst the day’s activity offerings to discover and experience something new and/or unusual.  Sample activities include blueberry picking, hikes, free swim, tie-dyeing, and improvisation.

Evening Programs – Skits, dances, Capture the Flag games, scavenger hunts, and campfires are just a few of the evening programs that bring the campers together to share even more fun. 

Special Events occur throughout the camp session with many scheduled for Saturdays & Sundays.  Carnivals, Theme Days, Olympics, Overnight Campouts and Chapel gatherings are just a few favorites.

Staff

A 1:3 staff to camper ratio is maintained within the cabin group. Counselors are typically college students and/or recent college grads who have studied and worked in special education, therapeutic recreation and/or a related field. Staff are selected for their experience in working with special needs children/teens, good character and knowledge of camp programming.

Facilities

Our facilities are second to none with beautiful, spacious log cabins that accommodate up to 14 people some with in-cabin bathrooms and showers.  Other log cabin-style buildings provide indoor activity and dining space. Our private, 42 acre lake provides the base for swimming, boating, and fishing. Miles of trails wind through our 1,100 acres offering hikers, mountain bikers, and horse back riders with a variety of terrain. Our ranch boasts two riding arenas and a fully equipped barn surrounded by paddocks.  Archery and Riflery ranges, arts & crafts studios, climbing towers, obstacle courses, high ropes course, and fields for games offer campers great places to enjoy activities galore.

Health Care

Our air-conditioned well equipped Health Lodges are staffed 24 hours per day with a team of RNs, LPNs and Health Care Assistants.  They manage daily medications, triage and treat injuries and illness and work with medical providers to ensure that we meet our campers’ health care needs. 

Healthy Lifestyles