Today was my first day working at Camp Royall: a camp that specializes in working with kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder. My first job was helping set up for a Special Needs class from Carrboro High School that was coming in as a field trip. The first activity was boating which consisted of helping the kids into either a big row boat or smaller paddle boats and letting them boat around the small lake. Then, we set up a campfire and sang campfire songs which all of the students loved. My favorite part though was the hayride we took all around the camp. I wasn’t expecting to be able to interact directly with these amazing kids, but I’m so glad that I was able to hang out with them. What I learnt was how wide the spectrum is for kids with Autism. The varying symptoms and degree of the neurological disorder is why Autism Spectrum Disorder is often referred to as an umbrella term for different types of diagnosis including Asperger’s, classical autism, and high-functioning autism. After the school group left around 1:00, I was assigned to sorting out binders for every counselor that comes to camp this summer. It was quite a tedious job, but an important one as the binders allow counselors to create a visual schedule for each individual camper.

I learnt that kids with autism are often very visual and might really like the structure and order which they get through schedules. Overall, I had a great first day!

-Fiona