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BCTucker
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16 Nov 2017, 2:51 pm

Sofisol612 wrote:

Thank you for your reply!

I´m glad to hear you had a good time at camp and that you could engage in your special interests there. I´m thinking of applying as a lifeguard, because I love swimming (plus, the pool is the best place to be in the summer). I think meals won´t be my favorite time either, but it doesn´t scare me. All-Camp games, though, are something I would like to avoid (I totally see myself hiding in the bathroom to wait it out hahaha).

I hope I find someone to hang out with on the weekends, but after my past experiences with being bullied and excluded, I wouldn´t be surprised if I was not invited. I relate to your experience of getting on better with the adults when you were a kid and with the children as an adult. It has happened to me as well. If I´m lucky, that will be an advantage in the job. As for structure and routine, I usually have no trouble with that (adherence to routines is the only symptom of ASD I have never had) but I usually like to know what will happen in a day and what I´m supposed to do, so a well established routine would be great to make me feel more confident and not so lost.


I think you should definitely give it a shot as long as you won't be bothered if you do end up getting left out on the weekends. The kids are awesome, and tons of fun, and even though kids can be mean and judge-y sometimes, I always felt like I could be more myself around them.



Sofisol612
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16 Nov 2017, 8:40 pm

BCTucker wrote:
Sofisol612 wrote:

Thank you for your reply!

I´m glad to hear you had a good time at camp and that you could engage in your special interests there. I´m thinking of applying as a lifeguard, because I love swimming (plus, the pool is the best place to be in the summer). I think meals won´t be my favorite time either, but it doesn´t scare me. All-Camp games, though, are something I would like to avoid (I totally see myself hiding in the bathroom to wait it out hahaha).

I hope I find someone to hang out with on the weekends, but after my past experiences with being bullied and excluded, I wouldn´t be surprised if I was not invited. I relate to your experience of getting on better with the adults when you were a kid and with the children as an adult. It has happened to me as well. If I´m lucky, that will be an advantage in the job. As for structure and routine, I usually have no trouble with that (adherence to routines is the only symptom of ASD I have never had) but I usually like to know what will happen in a day and what I´m supposed to do, so a well established routine would be great to make me feel more confident and not so lost.


I think you should definitely give it a shot as long as you won't be bothered if you do end up getting left out on the weekends. The kids are awesome, and tons of fun, and even though kids can be mean and judge-y sometimes, I always felt like I could be more myself around them.


Thank you again! I also feel I can be more like myself around children. I´ve decided I´m going to do it. I´ve already sent them my CV through an international program (I´m from Argentina, and I think this program of cultural exchange is the only way I can be hired by an American Camp.) I´m going to have an interview via Skype in less than two weeks. I´m a bit anxious about it, but I´m really looking forward to the experience. I plan to take one or two books with me, so that I´ll have something to do if I have to spend the weekends by myself.


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SplendidSnail
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16 Nov 2017, 11:37 pm

As a teenager (long before I had even heard of Asperger's), I did a Leadership Training program at a summer camp, which comprised of one week training in a camp environment, plus a one week practicum as an assistant Councillor at the same camp.

The second week (the practicum), when most of my interaction was with kids aged 9-11, I absolutely loved, probably because I was just taking a semi-leadership position in games played in an extremely structured environment. People have always said I'm pretty good with kids. One difficulty was that it was absolutely critical that I know the name of everyone in my cabin, and I did manage to learn 6 names in about half a day, which I was very proud of. But outside my cabin, I basically knew nobody's name.

The first week wasn't quite as good, probably because it was more with my peers and a bit less structured. I particularly didn't do that well when my cabin invited another cabin to sneek in in the middle on the night to play truth or dare, when I just wanted to sleep. That said, even the first week was pretty structured and I thought it was fine.

My gut says that, as long as you work well with kids and can handle crowds, camp will probably (hopefully) be fine.


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Sofisol612
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18 Nov 2017, 4:35 pm

SplendidSnail wrote:
As a teenager (long before I had even heard of Asperger's), I did a Leadership Training program at a summer camp, which comprised of one week training in a camp environment, plus a one week practicum as an assistant Councillor at the same camp.

The second week (the practicum), when most of my interaction was with kids aged 9-11, I absolutely loved, probably because I was just taking a semi-leadership position in games played in an extremely structured environment. People have always said I'm pretty good with kids. One difficulty was that it was absolutely critical that I know the name of everyone in my cabin, and I did manage to learn 6 names in about half a day, which I was very proud of. But outside my cabin, I basically knew nobody's name.

The first week wasn't quite as good, probably because it was more with my peers and a bit less structured. I particularly didn't do that well when my cabin invited another cabin to sneek in in the middle on the night to play truth or dare, when I just wanted to sleep. That said, even the first week was pretty structured and I thought it was fine.

My gut says that, as long as you work well with kids and can handle crowds, camp will probably (hopefully) be fine.


Thank you! I have problems with names too, and I know I´ll probably learn very few of those not in my cabin, but I hope I´ll manage to survive in spite of that. As for that night playing truth or dare, I can also relate to that. As a teen I made a trip with my school and we had to share rooms in a hotel. We usually had structured activities to do all day long, had dinner at around ten in the evening and were free to use the hotel´s wi fi to communicate with our families after that. We often went to bed at midnight, time by which I was really tired. One night my roommates invited the girls of other room to chat. I had already put on my pajamas, fortunately. I just got into my bed and tried to sleep. About an hour later the other girls left and my roommates went to sleep too. However, if something similar were to happen now that I´m older, I think I´d try to join the other girls, unless I honestly could not stand another minute with my eyes open.


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SplendidSnail
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18 Nov 2017, 5:22 pm

Sofisol612 wrote:
As for that night playing truth or dare, I can also relate to that...One night my roommates invited the girls of other room to chat. I had already put on my pajamas, fortunately. I just got into my bed and tried to sleep. About an hour later the other girls left and my roommates went to sleep too. However, if something similar were to happen now that I´m older, I think I´d try to join the other girls, unless I honestly could not stand another minute with my eyes open.

I didn't play truth or dare. I just lay in bed, one third dozing, one third pretending to sleep, one third watching them play. I would have been absolutely hopeless at truth or dare.
:D

I guess it did make me a bit more of an outsider, but nobody gave me any pressure to play or mentioned it after the fact, fortunately.


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Sofisol612
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30 Nov 2017, 8:59 pm

I’ve applied for the job and they told me they will hire me! I’m going to be a general counselor and lifeguard in a camp for children with special needs (mainly ASD and ADHD). They said no previous experience was needed, as I’ll receive training a few weeks before the campers arrive. I’m so excited!


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rowan_nichol
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01 Dec 2017, 7:18 am

Well done.



MagicMeerkat
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01 Dec 2017, 8:17 am

I went to a generalized special needs summer camp. It was mostly geared towards kids with physical disabilities and poorly managed. I wouldn't even send an NT child there.


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BCTucker
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01 Dec 2017, 9:37 am

Congrats!



Sofisol612
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01 Dec 2017, 6:23 pm

rowan_nichol wrote:
Well done.

Thank you!


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Sofisol612
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01 Dec 2017, 6:24 pm

BCTucker wrote:
Congrats!


Thanks!


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RAADS: 135


Sofisol612
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01 Dec 2017, 6:35 pm

MagicMeerkat wrote:
I went to a generalized special needs summer camp. It was mostly geared towards kids with physical disabilities and poorly managed. I wouldn't even send an NT child there.


I´m sorry to hear (or read) that. I hope the camp where I´m going to work is better. It´s not actually geared towards children with physical disabilities and I don´t even think they have any equipment for adapted sports. It is considered an inclusive camp because it´s actually a special program inside a bigger camp with NT kids, and the children in the "special needs" program can join the NT kids of their age for some activities avery day. And the camp has a speech therapist and an occupational therapist, plus some doctors and nurses to help with medication. Most of the children in that program have ASD, ADHD, learning disabilities or a combination of those three.


_________________
Professionally diagnosed with PDD NOS as a child, but only told by my parents at the age of 21.

Autism Quotient: 30
Aspie quiz: 123/200 aspie; 75/200 NT
RAADS: 135