Summer Camps For Children With Cerebral Palsy and Other Special Needs – Part One

Here at Tyrone Law Firm, we do everything we can to help families who have children with special needs. In fact we have dedicated members of our staff who have had to navigate a path for their own children. If you are a parent with a child with Cerebral Palsy or hypoxic brain injury, we hope these posts will bring you new resources for you, your child, and your family:
When families are faced with the daily challenges of raising a child with special needs, like Cerebral Palsy and Hypoxic Brain Injuries, they often feel like they are confined and weighed down by daily needs. Summer camps for special needs children give families a break from therapy and doctor’s appointments and all of the challenges a special needs child can bring, all while knowing their child is being cared for. Some families use this time to take vacations and do things they may not be able to do while taking care of a child with cerebral palsy, epilepsy or other special needs. Summer camps are a great resource for families of children with special needs.

Children with special needs deserve the chance to be individuals. At summer camps, they get to learn, grow, make new friends and just be themselves without the pressure and expectations life brings. Attending a summer camp for children that have similar disabilities lets children know that they aren’t the only ones like them.
With over 30 years of providing safe, affordable, high quality, individualized and group camping programs, Camp Big Heart, staffed and supervised by professionals in the field of human services. Camp Big Heart is an overnight summer camp for campers ages 7-60, with epilepsy and mild to moderate disabilities. Groups are divided in to 3 age divisions and each division has a one week session.

Session One: June 12 to June 17, 2016, ages 14 to 30.
Session Two: June 19 to June 24, 2016, ages 7 to 25.
Session Three: June 26 to July 1, 2016, ages 25 to 60.

Camp Big Hearts is located at Ft. Valley, GA and is hosted by Camp John Hope FFA-FCCLA Center. It is the mission of Camp Big Hearts to “provide the highest quality summer recreational camping experience for Georgia’s developmentally challenged children and adults.” There are endless activities that campers can participate in, such as swimming, archery, arts and crafts, and more. Campers get to pick their own discovery activity for the week and are given a trophy at the end of the week to celebrate their contribution to their cabin.

Camp Carpe Diem is an overnight summer camp hosted by CHOA for children ages 7-15, with Epilepsy and other seizure disorders. Camp is held in partner, since 2010, with Camp Twin Lakes in Winder, GA. This year, Camp Carpe Diem is from Sunday, May 29th through Friday, June 3rd. Carpe Diem feels that all children are special and children with epilepsy are no different. They promote positive self-esteem and a fun, safe environment for all campers. The goals of Camp Carpe Diem are:                                                                                                                                                                            Build a social network to help children develop their social skills.
Help campers develop more self-confidence and have better self-esteem.
Have fun, safe and exciting camping adventures.

At Camp Carpe Diem, there will be clinical staff available 24 hours a day at camp to administer medications and assist with any medical emergencies. Volunteers are staff from CHOA, along with members of the community, committed to making camp a safe and special week for your child. 

If you would like to know more  Camp Carpe Diam, you can find them on the web at: http://www.choa.org/campcarpediem.  For more information about Camp Big Hearts, you can find them on the web at:  http://campbigheart.org/. Stay tuned to our blog for more great summer camps. If our firm can help you find other resources for your family, or if we can ever help you or someone you know, please don’t hesitate to contact us at the Tyrone Law Firm.