As The Dragonfly Centre for Autism wraps up its camp season, councillors and campers look back on the summer fondly, and look forward to the next.
“I felt this year we were really a community,” said Alexis Russell, a camp councillor.
Russell is a returning summer student and said she really enjoys seeing the campers growth from one summer to the next.
“The growth and how much more comfortable they get with the councillors, and especially if you’re working one-on-one with them, is amazing,” said Russell.
The camp provides an opportunity for individuals with autism to connect with peers, allowing them to be in an environment where everyone, including the councillors, understands them.
“[As a councillor] you realize how inaccessible some places are when you’re working with kids in a wheelchair, or you learn how to rephrase things so that they don’t cause a potential meltdown,” said Megan Hannan, another councillor at the camp.
The councillors at the camp adapt to each camper’s needs, whether that would be helping them with crafts, or leading them around Kingsbrae Garden.
“They’re not only able to interact with peers of their own neurodivergence, but also with councillors who emulate proper social behavior,” said Stephanie Ruckstuhl, a camper’s parent.
Ruckstuhl said that her child finds it more difficult to create connections with kids at school, simply because of their non-neurodivergence.
“This has given her the ability to make social contacts and be okay with being who she is, and not feeling less-than,” said Ruckstuhl.
The Dragonfly Centre takes on many campers, with ten slots each week for six weeks. This year it had thirty-seven campers, and fifty-four slots filled according to executive director Carla Brown.
With a total of six councillors at the camp, they get to spend a lot of time focusing on each camper, allowing them to do what each individual enjoys.
“It’s just knowing their little quirks that make them [who they are] and how to keep them the most happy,” said Hannan.
This summer, campers took part in many activities away from camp, with The Dragonfly taking them to Kingsbrae Garden, The Huntsman, Sunbury Shores, Shining Horizons, Katy’s Cove, The Algonquin Golf Course, and many other activities.
Brown said many feel a special connection to the camp because it is one of a few places they get to see their friends.
“I want to try doing socials once a month to get the kids together, if it may be just certain age groups, it may be all of them,” said Brown. “We will be having an end-of-season barbecue get-together, and I will be inviting all of the campers and their families.”
Brown said that any help with the camp is appreciated.
“For starters, coming up with some new ideas. If anyone has ideas we might be able to implement, I would love them,” said Brown.
She also said that help with funding is huge for the organization, and in the future, the website will have a page where people can purchase things that it needs at camp, or donate to it directly.
Brown also said The Dragonfly struggles with finding new clients because of confidentiality.
“Confidentialty in this province is a wonderful thing, but it’s also a stumbling block for us because we struggle to get new clients because we don’t know who to contact,” said Brown.
Schools can’t give names of children with autism, and social development can’t either. However, she said the centre benefits from word of mouth.
Brown also said that she helps families to get the paperwork that could help them financially if they are struggling to pay to send their camper to camp.
Camp costs $400 per week, and a two-week period costs $750.
“Most of it is helped by social development, but some campers don’t have that in their life.”
She also said that the centre struggles to find summer students.
“This is one amazing place to work,” said Brown. “We hire more than just St. Andrews, we hire everybody from Charlotte County.”
However, she emphasized that her staff this year have been The Dragonfly’s best yet.
“They’re amazing. I cannot say enough how well they work together and how well the campers responded to them,” said Brown. “I want them all back.”
