Autism Awareness Month:”A Special Camp for the Special Camper” While this wonderful camp is not in Israel, by presenting this article we hope to encourage people to support such an effort here too.
By Daniel Falk, Owner/President
Autism Awareness Month
As part of Autism Awareness month, Camp Huntington is an 8-week residential summer camp program just for kids with special needs. 50% of the campers are diagnosed with Autism. Founded in 1961, the program is located in upstate NY, in the town of High Falls. Marc Chagall lived between New York City and High Falls in the 1940s, and a local museum displays his works from that time. The program also has a strong connection Israel. Its owner, Daniel Falk, who grew up near High Falls, is an Israeli citizen, and is also an artist and musician. Falk lives part of the year in Israel with his wife Yael and daughter Oriana. Falk is looking to develop a similar summer camp program in Israel. A number of Israeli staff work at the program each summer. Israeli families living in the US send their children to the program. The program offers tuition discounts for children who attend from Israel and places overseas.
Camp Huntington serves children with a variety of developmental disabilities, including Autism, Down Syndrome, ADD and ADHD and Learning Disabilities. Special education and psychology professionals designed this unique therapeutic recreation program for children to learn valuable social and life skills while having fun in an outdoor setting. The program specializes in serving children with moderate to severe levels of disability up to higher functioning types. This wide range allows all campers to learn and benefit from each other. Campers are grouped by age, gender and ability level.
Kids love camp! It’s a relaxed atmosphere where young, dedicated staff create a refreshing environment for children to learn and grow. Camp Huntington’s daily activities help children make important advances in functional skills that transfer after camp to their home and school environments. These skills fill an important gap in a child’s educational experiences to help them participate in their home communities more successfully. Campers are grouped by age, gender and ability level. Activities are safely designed to be fun and engaging. You can contact the camp to discuss whether the program can meet your child’s needs, or to refer a family you know who has a child with Autism or a related developmental disability.
Website: www.camphuntington.com
Email address: [email protected]
Autism Awareness Month
