[blindkid] Blind Camps

[Heather]

As per usual, this is just my opinion, and anyone can take it or leave it, and I am sure that several will leave it, but...  Camps or activities exclusively for blind children can be a good tool under certain circomstances, but they can premote social isolation if not treated with care.  For example, a one week block out of your child's summer is enough to premote perspective and foster meaningful friendships and networking tools between blind children and teens, but a month long camp that would take the place of an ordinary summer camp is a very bad idea.  Your child's friends should be his or her friends because they both love soccer or horses or music or swimming, etc, not because they are both blind.  You would never segragate all hispanic kids into one camp, all white kids into another, all Asians into another, all black kids into another, etc.  You would never tollerate your child being grouped based on something like that, and replacing instead of supplementing regular camps can be quite problematic.  I have one very good blind friend as an adult, and a few blind acquaintences that I bounce ideas off of from time to time, but the rest of my friends are sighted.  They are my friends because we all love music, or dogs, or children, or have similar spiritual beliefs or artistic tallents.

It is good for your blind child to see blind children less successful than them who are sheltered or struggling, because they can gain confidence helping these kids to reach where they are, can realize how much more functional they are by comparison and this combination of perspective and positive impact on others is very good for the social growth and self esteme.  Additionally, they are exposed to more socially advanced blind children who help them in turn, give them something to strive for and provide resources for everything from social emotional to accademic and technological issues.  Much of the tech training I got was not from parents or blindness professionals, but from blind acquaintences at camp who I could email or call for advice and help.  And, I did make two good friends, one of whom I lost touch with, one of whom I did not, who also provide emotional support and are a true friend.  But, it must be noted that she and I are friends because of common interests, not common experiences, because of who we are, not because we can't see.  Cancer is a common experience for children at certain camps, but this is a good foundation for venting frustration, expressing fears in a safe environment, sharing advice, etc, it is not a basis, in and of it's self, for meaningful long-lasting relationships.

After about five days of "blind camp" I was bored out of my mind each year and I started to cause trouble, teasing the less able blind kids who made me late for activities, who made me miss out on others entirely, who distroyed my property and generally agrivated me.  Give me a break, I was seven when I started going.  After a few years I met two girls who had no multiple disabilities, who were not sheltered and who wanted to compare pets at home, not canes, who wanted to talk about the stories they were writing, not their Braille Lights or Braille Notes, who wanted to talk stratagies for acquiring boy friends, not stratagies for acquiring guide dogs.  lol  We did compare notes on blindness related products and experiences, but that was not the main focus, and most of our friendship was carried on over the internet, on visits to one another's houses and over the phone.  And, if your child uses the blind camp, as adults use a workshop, convention or simposium, then they will be all set.  If they are relying on this to be the only place of social interaction, then there is a big problem waiting to happen.

It is undoubtedly easier to interact with other blind people who can't critisize your outfit, who express emotions with words, not just body language, who don't see if you pick your nose, who understand all of the adaptive things you use and don't burden you with questions every time you unfold your cane or open up JFW, but the real world is not easy, and it never will be.  Working to meet sighted people on equal terms, not to impress them per say, but to meet some of the social norms is a good thing.  It stretches us and makes us aware of things we might otherwise have neglected.  If a child becomes too reliant on blind friends for social interaction then they stop trying with sighted peers, and by the time they are in high school and their peers are ready to recognize their intelligence, wit, creativity, etc and seek it out, the blind teen is already out of the social loop to an extent where they can't reintigrate.

I have had many experiences where I brought a blind acquaintence with me to a play, a concert, a party, etc and they hardly talked to the sighted person, made several faux pas, and my sighted friends tried to include them, but eventually gave up because of the ackwardness.  No, making friends and maintaining relatiomnships isn't easy for any teen, but for one who has begun isolating in childhood because of exclusive camps or activities, used in access, it is ten times harder.  So, no, I am not against camps for blind children, if they are recognized for what they are and utalized as such.