JCC Camp Yachad codirectors Jodi Baxter Hotra, right, and Mike Goldstein and assistant director Randi Zucker are striving to keep the camp just as affordable for special needs children as for other campers.
March 06, 2008
At least one local parent — and probably a number of others — is delighted that the Jewish Community Center of Central New Jersey has chosen to give all the proceeds from its upcoming winter fund-raiser to benefit its Camp Yachad Shadow Program.
The parent’s six-year-old son will take part in the program for the third time.
“He loved being at camp these past two years, and the shadows made it possible,” Susan (not her real name) said. “It meant he could be immersed in a normal environment, and that is so important for him. His growth was incredible.”
On Saturday evening, March 8, participants in the Epicurean Adventure will dine with hosts in various private homes and then all come together for dessert and dancing at the JCC in Scotch Plains with a raffle and silent auction. The cost is $75 per person, with the proceeds earmarked to sustain the JCC’s special service at its camp.
The Shadow Program offers a one-to-one aide to work with children with special needs — like autism, attention deficit disorder, or other disabilities. The “shadows” — some are teachers or paraprofessionals, others are graduate students from Seton Hall University and undergraduate students — help the children participate in regular summer camp activities along with all the other children.
“It’s overwhelming and heartening to see how our Shadow Program has grown,” said Camp Yachad codirector Mike Goldstein, “from only five special needs campers a few years ago to 33 anticipated for this summer. The JCC’s winter fund-raiser is a lifeline for our Shadow Program — there’s no way we could hope to cover the considerable expense of this program without the generosity of the Jewish community and the funds we anticipate raising from this event.”
The average cost is $2,500 per shadow for the eight-week program. Parents are charged no more than the regular camp fee; as the demand rises, the JCC is striving to continue to provide the service for free.
Susan said, “We have had the most wonderful experience with the program. We started our son there when he was five. The year before, he went to summer school, and I regretted it so much. I remember how much I loved summer camp when I was a kid, and I wanted him to have that experience. He adores the JCC, he has such good associations with the place. When we drive by, he always calls out and points to it.”
Her son, who is on the autistic spectrum, is verbal and physically able, Susan said, but he struggles to communicate. Other children speak too quickly for him and — as desperately as he wants to make friends — he finds it hard to connect with them. According to his mother, the boy’s shadows — a female graduate student the first year, a young male musician the next — helped him respond appropriately to those who approached him and showed him how to take the initiative to reach out to other children.
Because interaction is such hard work for him, he tends to wander away. The shadows helped him maintain focus during craft activities, stay on the field during soccer games, and enjoy time in the swimming pool. They noticed too when he was having “a meltdown” and needed quiet time to recoup.
“The program has a great reputation,” Susan said. “It’s growing so fast because it offers children like ours a summer camp experience together with typical children. And it’s affordable.”
She is quite happy to see the program grow. “The more exposure typical kids have to those with special needs, the more sensitivity and understanding they develop, and the more a child like mine is accepted with compassion. Everybody benefits. And the more people see how many there are in the special needs community, the more likely we are to get the services we need.”
For more information on the Epicurean Adventure, contact Barbara Weisbart at 908-889-8800, ext. 209 or visit www.jccnj.org. For more information on the Shadow Program, contact Jodi Baxter Hotra at 908-889-8800, ext. 235.
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