by June Portnoy

If you have a child with high functioning autism, Asperger’s Syndrome or PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified), it’s very likely they have trouble socializing with their peers. If so, camp is the perfect opportunity for them to practice and reinforce these skills every day, all day long.

AMICA makes this possible by offering an eight-week summer camp program for kids struggling with social issues at Cherokee Day Camp in Bensalem. AMICA’s kids camp is targeted to children six- to 12-years-old, and its teen camp caters to teens 13- to 18-years-old.

“AMICA means friend in Latin, and we want our campers to establish friendships,” says Stephanie DeSouza, owner of AMICA, in partnership with Meghann Hernandez.

Stephanie has a master’s degree in clinical social work (MSW), and Meghann, a special education teacher, has a master’s degree in education.

“We provide our campers with opportunities to learn and practice appropriate social skills in the natural setting of camp,” adds Stephanie. “That way, they can focus solely on peer interactions with kids their own age, such as turn taking, conversational skills, and winning versus losing.”

All AMICA campers engage in typical camp activities like, swimming, yoga, zip lining, boating and fishing, under the supervision of the their own counselors, while frequently being integrated with campers at Cherokee.

Counselors are either special education teachers or college students studying in the field. AMICA’s staff facilitates pro-social skills throughout the day to help campers navigate social situations.

There is a four-to-one ratio of campers to counselor. In addition, teen volunteers act as mentors for these campers, and model various social skills.

“We really focus on the integration of our campers with the Cherokee campers,” says Stephanie. “They don’t get the chance to spend this much time socializing with other kids at school, where the emphasis is mostly on academics.”

Before camp begins and throughout the day, AMICA campers have group meetings at which time counselors offer feedback on how they have socialized with their peers, and provide instruction for new social encounters.

The teen camp follows a similar format to the kid’s camp three days a week, but for two days these older campers take field trips where they learn how to communicate with and relate to people in the community. Field trips range from restaurants and movies to malls and historic locations.

Teen campers are responsible for planning their field trips and speaking with community members in order to get to their destinations. They also learn how to handle money in social settings.

“Our overall goal is for our campers to generalize the social skills they learn at camp to all situations of their lives,” says Stephanie.

AMICA holds activities for its campers all-year-round, so kids can maintain the friendships they have forged at camp. In addition, AMICA runs six- to eight-week social skills groups throughout the school year in order to provide ongoing skill development beyond camp. Groups are open to all children and teens.

Also, AMICA now offers on-site support to peer groups that need help facilitating pro-social experiences in real-world settings.

Its highly experienced professional staff will come to your location and work with your child and peers to help promote meaningful social interactions.

AMICA is currently accepting applications for its summer camp, which will run from June 24th through August 16th, 9:00am to 3:30pm.

If you’re interested in enrolling, or in learning more about AMICA’s other programs, call 267-258-3974, email amica4autism@gmail.com, or visit www.amica4autism.com.

PHOTO CAP: Stephanie DeSouza (left) and Meghann Hernandez