I spent my summer working at a camp for people with developmental disabilities. As cliché as it sounds, I think I learned more from my campers than I taught them. I went into the summer shy and uncomfortable, afraid to make a fool of myself in front of my campers and co-counselors. But before I knew it, I was wearing a ridiculous costume at one of our camp-wide dance parties teaching a group of ten people how to do the hoedown throwdown dance from Hannah Montana, completely oblivious to the embarrassment and hesitancy that I felt coming into the summer. More than just that, though, I learned things about disability awareness, and about myself, that I had never considered before at this camp, and here are just a few:
- I learned about the accessibility issues that plague many aspects of our daily lives. Until I got to a camp where it was commonplace to have ramps and golf carts everywhere, use adaptive scissors and silverware, have sensory tools available, and have modifiable activities so that everyone can participate, I didn’t realize the extent to which so much of our culture in the United States revolves around ways of living that just aren’t accessible. This camp experience made me so much more passionate than I already was about fixing these issues wherever possible, and I certainly hope that accessible places, equipment, and activities become more commonplace so that everyone can participate.
- I learned that I am really quick at picking up ASL, a skill for which I am immensely grateful. I came into the summer knowing very little sign language, but there’s nothing like being thrown into the deep end and having to learn a language to be able to communicate with others. My campers expected me to know how to communicate with them regardless of my initial ability level, whether that meant English, ASL, nonverbal cues, or some combination thereof, and I am so glad they held me accountable in this way. They definitely weren’t going to let me get away with being ignorant of sign language, but they were also happy to teach me new signs or gently correct me if I was wrong. Especially when I messed up signs in funny ways. Did you know that the signs for “marry” and “hamburger” are uncomfortably similar? Because I certainly didn’t.
- This may have been a space for people with developmental disabilities, but at its core, it’s just a summer camp. I think sometimes people feel like the special education field and programs like this that surround it to be scary somehow, but it just isn’t. At the end of the day, my campers were just my campers, nothing less and nothing more. We learned, and played, and laughed, and grew together, and the people I met at this camp are genuinely some of, if not the best, people to ever come into my life. There was no judgement, no room for people to think poorly of each other, because we were all in it together. Camper and counselor alike, we understood that we all were going to make a mistake at some point throughout the summer, but we got each other through it and made it a successful season, nonetheless.
Amongst these important takeaways, I also learned some smaller things about working this type of camp. Here are some of my favorites.
- When you’re a new counselor, your campers will find funny ways to test you. My aforementioned initial ignorance of ASL caused a couple of my campers to tell me that the sign for “medicine” was the same as the sign for “hot dog” my first week there.
- Several of your campers will have a crush on you. Period. I have a folder full of love letters that were written to me over the course of the summer and letting people down easy and professionally became an important skill for me and many of my coworkers.
- Never, under any circumstances, try to do a craft with your campers involving glitter. I think I still have glitter lodged in some of my camp gear from some god-forsaken craft involving liquid glue, construction paper, and copious amounts of glitter a few weeks into the summer.
This camp means the world to me, and I can’t wait to go back. I’m back at college now, and I went from having one home two years ago to suddenly feeling like I have three: actual home, school, and now, camp. I’ve been Facetiming my campers whenever I can while they have their weekend sessions and hope to get back sometime soon. So, if you ever think about working at a camp for people with disabilities, I can’t recommend it enough. You’ll have a ton of fun and learn more than you could ever imagine!