When I was in Junior High, my parents sent me to this camp because they thought it would be good for me.When I was in junior high, my parents thought it would be a fantastic idea to send me to a camp that specializes in "special needs" people. So I'm shipped off to a place called Talisman Camp in North Carolina. On the first day there, the counselors started going over the rules. One of the dumbest rules had to do with the meals. There was a table with food at the back of the cafeteria where we would line up and some of the counselors would serve it to us. If they had something you didn't like or something that you were allergic to, you weren't allowed to refuse it. You could only say "no thank you" and they would give a "no thank you helping", which is a tiny bit of whatever food they had. For example, I hated lima beans and one time they had lima beans, so as a "no thank you helping", they gave me a single lima bean. Their logic was to reduce waste, which really didn't make sense since I wasn't going to eat it. But they acted like I might change my mind. In hindsight, I suspect they were trying to convince us that perhaps we weren't sure about our food, which was a big problem with this camp, they treated us all like children.
I remember the condescending tone the counselors used in order to talk to me, as if I didn't know any better. Meanwhile, there were the other autistic kids to deal with. I could barely handle my own problems much less the problems of other children with autism. And when I say mountain hike, I mean an actual mountain hike. We had mountain packs and everything, including scat bags. Now it would have been a pleasant experience if I didn't have to deal with the condescending attitude from the counselors and the autism from the other campers. One of them kept screaming for no reason. Not out of anger or sadness or pain, but just because he could and the counselors wouldn't do anything about it.
When we got back from our camping trip, I thought I was about to lose my mind because I could not handle all the stress. Thankfully, things settled down the next few days. However, there was one camper who really got on my bad side because he kept kicking my bed. (I was on the top bunk) and being all around annoying. In hindsight, I knew it had to do with his autism and the bed kicking was probably a coping mechanism, but it really got on my nerves. On the very last day, I said to him "dude, stop. You are making me want to punch a baby." This was a bad move, as somehow he heard "I am going to punch you."
Of course, he went and told a counselor and we had a group meeting. A
Hispanic lady called "Jenny" told me to apologize to this kid. I tried to explain that he misunderstood what I said, but she would have none of it. She just told me to apologize to him. Again, I tried to explain the misunderstanding but it fell upon deaf ears. She actually threatened to keep me at the camp if I did not apologize. I had a plane to catch later that evening, so I could not afford to miss it. So begrudgingly, I apologized for a crime I did not commit. The experience was very emotional and unjust.
In hindsight, she was probably bluffing and I should have called it. But I didn't know any better. But the fact that it was acceptable to lie to the campers is what really disturbed me. I told my parents about what happened and they submitted a complaint. The administration said they would investigate, but they never got back to my parents. They asked for information a few weeks later, but received no response.
In conclusion, I would not suggest sending your autistic child to this camp. While I did get some good exercise from the hiking as well as muscle building, the fact that so many autistic people are rounded up in one place does not make for a good atmosphere. The condescension from the counselors and the dismissive attitude they have also make for a miserable experience. read more
