Camp Can Do was created in 2011 to empower individuals with autism to rise to their highest potential. The Johnson County Autism Support Group started this summer program to fill a need in the Johnson County autism community. Camp Can Do offers a four-week day camp for children ages 10-14 with autism.
Camp Can Do enables young people with autism to develop skills that will benefit them for a lifetime. The day camp experience offers a unique opportunity to learn valuable skills over the summer break. There are six main goals:
- Develop friendships between campers and peers
- Expose campers to local public transportation
- Build simple cooking skills
- Improve money skills
- Exercise
- Fun
It is important for students with autism to have access to a structured and active environment over summer break in order to minimize the loss of skills and ease transition back to school. The program offers this environment and allows students to continue to build on skills needed to become an independent adult, such as shopping, cooking, money management, and using public transportation.
Divided into groups, the campers, led by head counselors, rotate through activities lead by activity leaders. Head counselors and activity leaders are traditionally college students that are majoring in education or therapy. High school students also volunteer as junior counselors. The camp director supervises all activities.
The program is divided into two 2-week sessions. Session 1: June 17 – June 28 and Session 2: July 8 – July 19. Camper days are filled with activities from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Registration for one session is $250 and campers attending both sessions receive a $100 discount. Whiteland Community High School has graciously agreed to host Camp Can Do at the WCHS- 9th Grade Center, located at 222 Tracy Street, in Whiteland. Deadline for camp registrations is June 1.
For more information, registration forms or financial aid inquires contact Amanda Cooper at (317)409-8372 or amanda@jcasg.org. Learn more about the organization and the camp program at jcasg.com/camp-can-do, or see this flyer.
