[blindkid] Blind Camps

[Susan Harper]

I have to disagree.  I felt the same way until I took my son who had no arms
to a camp for children with physical disabilities.  He came home a and said
that was camp.  Finally someone like me.  Our son felt isolated in the
reverse.  He was always included in everything, playing soccer and Little
League.  He was also class president in 5th grade.  He is a now married and
drives a car.  Another parent of a child with a disability once told me I
didn't do a very good job of teaching my son about his limitations.  He has
no limitations, other than those imposed by society.  He loved that camp
because he had a haven where he could be himself and everything for once was
adapted and he didn't have to work so hard and he could "be with other kids
like me!"

I am a parent of a blind child, but my most important job is parent.  I too
have had to learn to do things differently, as many of you have.  I am
always so glad when I can talk with someone who is going through what I am
and we can compare notes get information and learn from each other.  That is
what our children who have disabilities need too.  They need a place to
learn and practise skills that they want to have to be able to function in
the world, without everyone seeing them fall (use metaphorically).  A camp
for blind children is great to provide that place of camaraderie, learning,
sufficient supervision, a break for the parents (Yes, we need one too!) and
just to be themselves without having to worry about what everyone thinks.
It can be a special place of belonging.

I too be there are many more perspectives on this.

Blessings and stop to smell the roses!
Sue H.

On Tue, Jun 1, 2010 at 9:17 AM, Heather <craney07 at rochester.rr.com> wrote:

> 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.
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