The Role of ABA Therapy in Summer Camp Preparation

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are known to thrive when they have daily routines. When children with autism know what to expect and are able to predict what’s happening and when, they’re more likely to feel comfortable and less likely to feel anxious or overwhelmed.

This can present a major challenge to even experienced parents, as sometimes minor changes or adjustments in the schedule can cause children on the autism spectrum to face difficulties.

Summer presents even bigger challenges for children with autism and their families. In many cases, summer is a time of change and a deviation from the normal schedule.

The child may have a long break from school or may have older siblings who do. This can throw the daily routine into disorder.

Summer camps can help by providing structure and predictability. Yet, there is also a major learning curve, since summer camp is something new and unfamiliar.

In this article, we’ll discuss some ways in which ABA therapy can help children with autism prepare for summer camp.

Table Of Contents

Teaching Social Skills

A big part of any summer camp is meeting new peers and interacting with them. Children with autism often face deficits in communication and social interaction skills, which makes it hard for them to establish and maintain relationships with their neurotypical peers.

At summer camp, the child is likely to encounter a lot of peers who they’ve never met before. This could cause extra stress and anxiety.

ABA therapy can help in this regard by teaching children with ASD the social skills they’ll need to thrive. Using prompting and fading, role playing and modeling techniques, therapists can help their patients become more comfortable with initiating and holding conversations, sharing and other individual skills that play a large role in successful social interactions.

Building Regulation Skills

Summer camp provides structure, but usually not as much as a typical school day. Activities are often fun and sometimes chaotic, and can be full of sensory stimuli.

All of this is usually exciting for neurotypical children, but it can make a child with autism feel overwhelmed quickly. Knowing that this is going to be something they’ll likely face, ABA therapists can help their patients build regulation skills so they can cope if they’re experiencing sensory overload.

Some of these strategies might be practicing deep-breathing exercises and asking adults for help if they need it. The therapy team can also communicate with the camp staff to see if separate sensory and/or calming areas can be set up for the child, if needed.

All of these strategies will enable the child to help themselves if possible and, if not, ask others for help when they need it.

Teaching Independence

ABA therapy seeks to teach children with autism independent skills. This may look drastically different from one child to the next — ranging from learning how to get dressed and feed themselves to learning how to play by themselves and even prepare a meal.

In terms of summer camp, ABA therapy’s role in teaching independence is vital. Unlike during the regular school year, the counselors at many summer camps may not be as experienced and/or old as teachers.

Camp counselors are often seasonal workers hired just to help with the camp, and are often younger than teachers. While most of these counselors are certainly capable, they may not have the knowledge or experience to properly assist a child with ASD.

ABA therapy can help prepare children with autism for summer camp by teaching specific independent skills they’ll likely use during camp. This could include changing in and out of a bathing suit, getting in and out of a swimming pool safely, and eating lunch and using the bathroom without assistance.

Blue Gems ABA Can Help Children Prepare for Summer Camp and More

Summer presents many challenges for any family, but especially so for parents of children with autism. If your child is going to summer camp, ABA therapy can help them prepare so they feel more comfortable and less anxious about it.

At Blue Gems ABA, we can customize our treatment plans to your child’s specific needs, challenges, strengths and preferences, based on scenarios they’re likely to encounter. We can help teach them various skills they’ll need to prepare for summer camp and any other major change to the daily routine.

To learn more, please contact us today.