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25 Days until our campers arrive!

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Ten Reasons to Register for the 2021 Season at Camp Lee Mar! – Summer camp for children with special needs.

 ·       Our campers are AMAZING!

We have the best campers! Camp Lee Mar campers are from diverse ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. They come from all over the United States, and many different countries.

 ·       We are seven weeks of awesome!

While Camp Lee Mar takes pride in our academic-related programs, we also want to make sure our campers are enjoying traditional camp activities and all the adapted special needs summer programs we have to offer. Days at Camp Lee Mar are filled with smiles, laughs, and fun! Whether our campers are in the pool, playing kickball, fishing, painting, dancing, or participating in one of the many other activities at camp, we make sure our campers are having the time of their lives! Our goal is to give the campers an amazing summer experience while working on all areas of independent living skills. Our teachers and therapists are not only found in the classrooms but also at activities, helping to generalize IEP goals during the day-to-day activities at camp. Our campers learn to fold their clothing, make their beds, shower independently, and work on dining-room skills. A seven week summer camp for children with special needs is the perfect length of time to have great fun while learning and mastering new skills.

 ·       Leadership!

The priorities and overall structure of a camp starts at the top. Camp Lee Mar’s directors not only have extensive camping experience, but also have a wealth of experience working with special needs individuals. Additionally, Ari and myself both have children with special needs.

 ·       We are… an extension of the school year – Education and Fun in one great camp experience!

Camp Lee Mar provides a very structured program with six periods in each day. The program encompasses all the traditional camp activities but, in addition, includes strong speech, social skills, academics, daily living, physical therapy, and occupational therapy programs. These programs are headed by professionals in their fields, and run by current teachers, speech therapists, and students studying each subject. As our campers move into the senior program, we begin working on skills that will assist them in transitioning into their adult life. Our older campers take part in vocational training and job skills activities, with many senior campers holding a job at camp, or moving onto the L.I.F.E. Program.  Due to these programs, many of our campers are at Camp Lee Mar as part of their Extended School Year (ESY).

 ·       Our OUTSTANDING staff!

Camp Lee Mar’s counselors come to camp specifically to be with special needs campers. They are motivated to work at a summer camp for children with special needs and are the best individuals to be working with the campers. Many of our counselors are pursuing careers in the field of special needs.

  ·       Special events!

Our campers love structure – but we also like to shake things up at least once or twice a week with some scheduled special events. Some of our summer special events include; Fourth of July celebrations, crazy hair day, pirate day, the fishing derby, international day, trips off camp, western day, carnival day, prom, and of course, special Olympics! There is never a dull day at Camp Lee Mar.

 ·       Our parents love Camp Lee Mar too!

“You cannot imagine the positive impact that you have had not only on our son, but our entire family. He now loves to read and isn’t satisfied unless he gets all his spelling words correct. His participation in sports, social programs and his academics has all improved. It is hard to believe that the 7 weeks that he spent at camp could really affect so many things. Our only regret is that we did not find out about Camp Lee Mar sooner.”

 ·       The Food!

The food at Camp Lee Mar is delicious!  We have an amazing chef and kitchen staff who assure all dietary restrictions are accommodated and our campers enjoy a healthy balanced menu.  Our staff and campers LOVE the food at Camp Lee Mar.

 ·       The Camp Facilities!

Our cabins are air-conditioned and carpeted, our Junior Olympic sized swimming pool is heated and our meals are served by wait staff family style.  

 ·       Home away from home!

We have a very high percentage of returning campers and staff every year!  Camp Lee Mar truly becomes a “home away from home” for our campers and our staff.  We love our Camp Lee Mar family.

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There is nothing like Summer Camp!

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Conquering COVID learning loss while having fun at camp! – Special needs camps autism and learning differences.

So many of the conversations that we have had lately with parents revolve around helping their child gain back confidence in social skills. The past year has been hard for all of our campers and their families, returning campers and new campers. So how will a therapeutic camp program allow our campers to gain and feel confident in their social skills this summer? Keeping COVID in mind, these are the three key reasons our social skills and speech therapy programs are so successful during the summer at Camp Lee Mar, and will be beneficial considering the inability to practice social skills in person over the past 16 months;

We reinforce all speech and social skills in a naturalized setting across our camp environment. This means not only do our campers receive “classroom” speech sessions, but our speech specialists also see the campers across a range of activities in the camp program. Sometimes what a child is capable of in a therapy room looks very different in an outside social setting. Our counselors and speech specialists can reinforce and generalize needed social skills across all areas of camp life.

We follow your child’s I.E.P. goals, but we can also add family goals too! The benefit of a residential camp speech program is that we get to see how your child copes and adjusts in all settings. We get to develop social skills needed for school and home.

Camp offers a seven week, twenty-four hour a day immersive social and language skills program. Many of our campers make more social and emotional progress in the seven week camp program than they do during an academic year.

It is this functional approach that allows our campers to build their friendship circle at Camp Lee Mar. The speech staff and the counseling staff work closely together so every opportunity that arises during the day can be used as a natural social learning experience. The staff can guide our campers in their social interactions to allow them to be successful making friendships and to assist in learning the skills to maintain those friendships. That is how our campers gain such meaningful connections at Camp Lee Mar. We have parents tell us that their child has trouble remembering the names of the other students in their class at school, but after seven weeks at Camp Lee Mar their child can name all their friends and counselors from their cabin. It is amazing to watch each cabin at camp become a close friendship circle, to see the campers develop a sense of pride in their group, and their role within the group, and to see how the staff assist in facilitating meaningful camper friendships and connections. This is what makes the Camp Lee Mar experience so special for our campers. Our campers feel the sense of belonging that comes with having friends that understand them, friends that include them, and friends that are working on similar skills as they are. To have a true friendship circle within their cabin helps our campers to work on social skills that will benefit them for the rest of their school year in a fun camp environment. So when considering the potential loss of social and academic skills during COVID, what better way to help your child work on new skills than being at Camp Lee Mar!

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Happy Monday!

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What does it mean to be an American Camp Association accredited summer camp special needs program?

Camp Lee Mar is proud to be accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA), the country’s leading professional accreditation organization for camps. This means that we have passed a detailed review, consisting of over 300 standards checks! To be an ACA Accredited Camp, Lee Mar takes part in a thorough review of our day-to-day operations every three to five years. This review includes everything from our staff qualifications, our fun and educational camp program, to the health and safety of campers and staff. ACA standards establish guidelines for policies, procedures, and practices at camp. The American Camp Association collaborates with experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Red Cross to assure all accredited camps reflect the most up-to-date, research-based standards in camp operations. Camp Lee Mar is proud to be an ACA accredited camp and participate in their yearly conference. It is extremely important to us to be recognized by the ACA. We share their vision of “enriching the lives of children, youth, and adults through the camp experience”. ACA guides us in our programming at Camp Lee Mar assuring we provide:

Healthy, developmentally appropriate activities and learning experiences for our campers. At Camp Lee Mar this includes our unique academic program, social skills training, speech therapy, job training skills, alongside our traditional camp activities.

Discovery through experiential education and play.

Caring, competent staff who have had thorough background checks done and understand our campers with special needs.

Opportunities for leadership and personal growth for both our campers and staff.

ACA Standards and guidelines also assist us in maintaining the grounds and daily operations of camp to the highest standards. The ACA accreditation means that Camp Lee Mar upholds regulations and benchmarks in specific areas. The following are just a few of the operational standards that are observed, documented and required during an ACA accreditation inspection:

During our summer camp special needs program at Camp Lee Mar we work very hard to provide the highest quality of care for our campers and our staff. We are proud to be accredited by the American Camp Association, meeting and exceeding camp standards during our outstanding summer program. www.leemar.com

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An amazing special needs camp experience for both campers and staff!

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Why our campers and staff love Camp Lee Mar!

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Camp For Special Needs Children – What our campers wish you knew!

Please don’t yell when you speak to me.

My learning differences do not impair my hearing. Please be patient with me and give me a little extra time to process what you said to me.  Sometimes using less words in your instructions or conversations can help me as well.

Please do not ignore me, talk negatively about me, or ask questions to others about me in my presence.

I can understand what you are saying, please talk to me. When you take the time to talk to me, and not about me, it makes me feel valued as a person.

Please believe in me and help me believe in myself, my skills and my abilities.

Believe in me, and I will believe in myself.  I need you to talk with me about the things I am good at so I have the confidence to try new things.

Please don’t perceive me as less.

I may not learn the same way as you, and I may not learn as quickly as you, but I am trying.  Have patience with me and work with me, you will be amazed at what I can accomplish.

Sometimes my behavior is a form of communication, please try not to judge me.

Sometimes I cannot think of the right words to say when I am feeling overwhelmed or frustrated so my communication becomes behaviors.  Please help me to regain control, help me find a quiet place to regroup and try again. Crowded rooms, loud noises, or situations that feel out of my control, can be very scary for me. When I am scared I cannot always find my words or communicate my feelings.

Please don’t yell at me, put me in timeout, or tell me “no” without explanation.

If I do something wrong don’t assume I know how to fix it.  Please let me know what I have done is not acceptable, but use it as a teaching tool to teach me the socially correct way to respond next time. Sometimes I might laugh if someone gets hurt, teach me to ask if they are okay.  Sometimes I might run away and hide if I am overwhelmed, teach me to request a break.  I need you to support me, not show disappointment in me when I don’t react the way you think I should. Use these times as teaching moments and support me.

Please don’t compare me to others.

Please remind me of my talents and strengths, it helps me to feel confident.  Comparing me to other children makes me feel insecure, I need to know you value me for who I am.

Please include me in all activities.

Please invite me to play with you, to go to the movies or to your birthday party. I can be a great friend if you take the time to get to know me.

Please give me choices.

If you give me choices, I know you value my capabilities and options.  This also allows me some control over the situation.  For instance, you can ask me to choose between two T-shirts or two of my favorite snacks.  You will also be teaching me that my opinion matters and improving my ability to make choices.

Please know that I am not just my diagnosis.

I am an individual, please take time to get to know me. We will both benefit greatly if you do. 

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