“We started Kids Unlimited in
2009 at the request of a parent
who could not find appropriate
camp experiences for her son.

A lot of the camps that this parent
looked into didn’t have the support
system or weren’t able to make
accommodations necessary to
serve all kids,” she says. “We believe
that every kid should be able to go
to summer camp, so we spent a
year researching and planning to
create Kids Unlimited.”
Camp Pegasus
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Many of the inclusive summer
camps in the region offer an
effective combination of
classic summer camp
fun infused with social
and life skills training.

“At Camp Pegasus,
campers engage
in sports, theater,
computer play, art
therapy, music therapy,
dance-movement therapy and more,” says
Fogel. “These activities
provide the structure to
support how kids interact. But
we layer in an intensive therapy
piece, which barely registers as
therapy because the kids are having
so much fun.”
Camp Pegasus offers key
supports to ease campers’
anxieties, such as providing the
day’s schedule on a lanyard that
campers wear around their necks.

Plus, many staff members have
advanced degrees in behavioral
health, and the camp maintains a
low staff-to-camper ratio.

A low staff ratio is also a key
component of TIC Summer
Camp, an inclusive day camp
with three locations in the
Washington, D.C. metro area. TIC
Summer Camp seeks to foster
the minds and bodies of campers
with equal half days of technology
and athletics.

“We have a low staff-to-camper
ratio; kids with mild learning
disabilities can be very successful
at TIC,” says Emily Riedel, TIC
Summer Camps’ owner and
director of operations. “We
believe that all children benefit
from diversity. That includes
Living Classrooms
Foundation neurodiversity but also diversity
of race and gender. Because a basic
philosophy of inclusiveness guides
our camp, we work hard to remove
any barriers that would keep kids
from participating.”
Working to remove barriers was
among the founding goals for the
Living Classrooms Foundation,
which provides experiential learning
programs, including summer camps,
for nearly 30,000 youth and adults
in 30 sites across Baltimore and
Washington, D.C.

“For nearly two decades, Living
Classrooms partnered with The Arc
and schools to offer Bay Buddies,”
says Living Classrooms Foundation
President and CEO James Bond.

“Bay Buddies was designed to
provide fun, hands-on, skill-
building opportunities for students
with developmental disabilities
with activities like sailing,
horseback riding and gardening.

“Participants benefit from low
staff-to-student ratios, highly
qualified staff and an inclusive,
welcoming environment.”



While all kids stand to benefit from a
quality camp experience, the benefits for
campers with special needs are amplified.

A primary benefit for neurodiverse kids is an
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“For example, we foster their independence
by taking field trips into the community to
restaurants, the pool and a pediatric movement
center, to name a few.”
In addition, many of the campers may
experience bullying during the school year, so
an inclusive summer camp offers a safe space
where kids can improve their self-esteem.

“We (at Camp Pegasus) create a culture of
positivity and affirmation and a structure in
which kids can be successful,” explains Fogel.

“We do a special kind of social coaching where
we encourage the camper to do the social
thinking instead of just telling them what to
do. This sort of social training is invaluble for
teaching the interpersonal skills the kids will
need throughout their lives.”
Max*, an alumnus of Camp Pegasus, has
benefitted from this type of instruction.

“Max still uses many of the phrases
and lessons he learned during his time at
Pegasus,” says his mother. “The camp is also an
opportunity for quirky kids to understand that
their peers are also struggling with the same
opportunity to build their social and life skills. things, and sometimes these peers become
“At our camp (Kids Unlimited), kids have friends who truly understand each other.” n
the opportunity to do a lot of the things they
may not be able to do without the support
*Max’s name has been changed to protect his
system offered by our staff,” says Presnell.

identity per parent/guardian request.

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