Camp

Last weekend (10-11 September), James and I went to Camp Connection, a two-day camp for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and their parents. It's an annual camp, their third year. It was great. James enjoyed it, and so did I. He did get into a few things (such as microphones and locks), and I did have to chase him down a few times, but other than that, he was very well-behaved and happy. The volunteers kept on saying how much they fell in love with James. Although almost seven, he's still cute and affectionate.

The children would go off in groups for a couple hours at a time, with free time for the parents. They had an open sign-up schedule for fishing and horseback riding for parents, but activities for the children were more structured, with plenty of volunteers. I wasn't feeling very sociable at first, so I went hiking alone, enjoying the scenery. I eventually went off the map and found a watering hole with a small waterfall. After that experience I felt better and joined in with everyone else for the rest of the weekend. I met with a few parents and had an opportunity to observe how other autistic children behaved.

James is still talking about the hay ride, "puppy dog" moon walk, puzzle room, the camp fire, horses, "cabin 5," and "Texas Farm Trailers." In the evening we went on a hay ride to the camp fire. During the camp fire songs James kept yelling out "wheels on the bus," so at the end everyone finally sang his favorite song. James wouldn't eat the S'mores but he enjoyed watching the marshmallows burn. He also quickly figured out how to operate the microphone, and went around clicking everyone's flashlight.

James also loved the cabins. At lunch he told everyone he was in cabin five. Before lights out he would run over to the neighbors cabin because they had a lot of kids there. Earlier that day, the lady next door warned me her son would do exactly the same thing. It was nice to be in an environment where everyone was so understanding.

On the last day it rained in the afternoon, so they brought the petting zoo under the covered pavilion. James was scared of most of the farm animals, such as chicks, chickens, piglets, goats, and lambs, but he wasn't afraid of the calf and the pony, probably because they took him on pony rides earlier. He also liked the rabbits, but that's because he already got used to them in day care and preschool.

It was good to see James interacting with other people, adults and children. One older boy (probably with Aspberger's), wanted to sit with James during lunch. Experiences like this are great for him developmentally (James doesn't forget anything). Today James was jumping on his bed, talking, making plans about how his cousins (out-of-state) were going on a camping trip with him. Good idea. We should do that one day.