Summer will be here soon, and if you have a child with autism, you know it can be hard to find suitable summer activities and camps that your child will enjoy and feel safe doing. We’ve listed some summer camps and activities below in the Peoria, Springfield, and Bloomington areas that cater to children with special needs. Every child has a different kind of need, so we encourage you to follow the links to their websites to learn more about the programs and to discover if the activity is right for your child.
- Easterseals is an organization in central Illinois that helps children with developmental delays, disabilities, and other special needs. They have a multitude of therapies, classes, and programs for kids with autism. As far as summer activities, Easterseals has adaptive swim lessons for kids ages 4 through 10. Skill levels include Introduction to Water Skills, Fundamentals of Aquatic Skills, and Stroke Development.
- In addition, Easterseals also has a Water Seals Group, which helps children with autism improve water safety, social skills, motor planning, and sensory processing ability. The class is taught by a licensed certified occupational therapy assistant and a swim instructor/lifeguard. In addition, Easterseals has both day and overnight camps for kids with disabilities and autism that run June 6th through August 12th. You can learn more about the camp here.
- Camp Big Sky is a summer camp for both children and adults with disabilities. Its mission is “to provide education, training and skills development to children and adults with disabilities through participation inaccessible outdoor activities.” Some of their activities include fishing, recreational boating, nature study, arts and crafts, kite flying, overnight camping, fossil hunting, lawn games, bocce ball, campfires, cookouts, hiking accessible trails, and hayrack rides.
- Camp Big Sky also has a wheelchair swing so those who are wheelchair-bound can experience swinging, sometimes for the first time in their lives. Camp Big Sky is completely volunteer-run and is available at no cost to children, their families, and their caregivers. Learn more about Camp Big Sky here.
- There are also several equestrian therapy organizations for kids with autism and disabilities. For example, Central Illinois Riding Therapy provides equine therapy for children with disabilities. They provide “individually tailored therapeutic riding lessons for children, youth, and adults with mental, physical, emotional, and behavioral disabilities.”
- The Heart of Illinois Special Recreation Association has a huge roster of activities specially designed for children with disabilities and special needs, from game nights to bowling to aquatics classes. Learn more on their website.
- Autism McLean is a center for children with autism in McLean County, Illinois. They have two different summer camps that they run out of the Timber Pointe Outdoor Center. The first is Camp Takoda, whose mission is to support and entertain children on the autism spectrum in a natural outdoor setting on Lake Bloomington. Children will be able to participate in activities like canoeing, swimming, horseback riding, games, and much more.
- Camp Pathfinder is geared toward siblings of people living with autism. It is designed to support and recognize that those who have siblings on the spectrum need their own care, love, and a sense of belonging. This camp creates a supportive environment for children who have this common experience.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of camps and activities in central Illinois that are available to children with autism. Here is a reliable directory from the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab that gives a list of resources for finding summer camps suitable for special needs children.
If you are looking for more resources as a parent raising a child with autism, you can visit our resources page.
