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Neighbors | Submitted.Camp FRIEND Family Week will take place on June 26-30 to help families on the autism spectrum and other special needs to get out into the community to enjoy activities with their peers and their family members.
The Autism Society of Mahoning Valley recently announced a new program this year that helps families on the autism spectrum and other special needs to get out into the community to enjoy activities with their peers and their families.
Camp FRIEND Family Week will take place from June 26-30, 2017 with an activity planned each day. The highlight of the week will be a Kennywood Day on June 28, including a chartered bus to the park. Sponsor-A-Child donations and volunteer opportunities are still available. For more information, call Camp Coordinator Tracy Marciano at 330-717-1342 or go to www.autismmv.org.
“This year’s program is a spinoff of our successful Camp FRIEND day camp that was started in 2014,” said Marciano, who serves as the Autism Society of Mahoning Valley Board Secretary. “We decided to open the week up to families to affect more children on the spectrum. At traditional day camp, we think it is important to keep our pupil-to-qualified counselor ratio very low because of the intense needs of children and teens on the autism spectrum. As a result, every year families were turned away. We hope this year everyone who is interested can be involved.”
The Camp FRIEND Family Week schedule is: June 26th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. - bowling party at Camelot Lanes in Boardman ($6/person); June 27 from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. - skating and more at the Skate Zone in Austintown ($8/person, free if assisting); June 28 from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. - Kennywood Day (registration required on Eventbrite.com, $28-$35/person); June 29 from 12-4 p.m. - craft with Kristen Kantounatakis at 12:30 p.m., craft and play at Boardman Park, Edgewood Pavilion (email autismmv@gmail.com to register, $3 per child); June 29 from 7-8 p.m. - frozen yogurt night at Delightful in Columbiana (20 percent off orders, mention Autism Society) and June 30 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. – Wagon Trails Animal Park, Vienna ($10/person).
“We are excited to bring families together to enjoy activities with their children”, said Robin Suzelis, Autism Society of Mahoning Valley Board President and a mom to two autistic children. “It is difficult for our families to go out into the public without support from other families. We have hired four special education teachers to assist families for our Kennywood day. Many of our families wouldn’t even consider going to an amusement park so we want to help them.”
According to the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1 in 3 persons with autism are socially isolated. Camp F.R.I.E.N.D. looks to tackle the challenges that cause this staggering statistic by providing the supportive environments to facilitate friendships between persons with autism to create support for parents and caregivers.