Ideas to help camp counselors Here are some sample social stories for summer camp: http://www.stopthatbehavior.com/pdf/cgt_social_story.pdf - general introduction to a camp called Good Times. I Am Going To Sleep Away Camp is written by a family member for our loved one to help him address some specific concerns and overcome any fear and anxiety he had over going to camp for the very first time. Social stories created by Mount Hood Kiwanis Camp: Animals in the forest               Being kind to others               Breaks at camp                      Campfire          &nbs p;                      &nbs p; Campout schedule                 Canoe safety rules                  Canoers          &nbs p;                      &nbs p;  Choices at camp                     Eating healthy at camp           Feeling safe in bed at night     Flag          &nbs p;                       &n bsp;          Fun activities at camp               Health          &nbs p;                      &nbs p;        Mealtime    Morning routine My group at camp Nighttime routine Personal space Quiet time at camp Riding horses at camp Rocks stay on the ground Setting the table for mealtime Staying with my counselor Staying with my group Time to go home Touching appropriately Waiting for my turn Ways to show my friends I like them                http://www.mhkc.org/Resources/especiallyForCampers.aspx lol, honestly I don't think I'd like those either. i don't blame the boy, lol No, it is a giant auditorium. He is fine, he just doesn't love the "counselor contests" in which you scream the loudest for your counselor. I'll ask him if he wants to try the earplugs again. I may bring mine too! Is it possible to have a staffer wait with him in a quiet room? If it's the sort of thing where the whole camp comes together, could they put him in a room with a window, acompanied by a staff member so he can still "be part" of the end of day. Also, our kids who dont like loud noises usually wear earplugs (something their parents have sugested) and go somewhere quieter. It sounds like hes doing awesome! I think that kids can really tell if you like them, if you want them to be involved, and they really respond to that. Hope he's having a blast! I love those! THings are going much better. He has found a friend and is very responsive to his counselors. They are really interested in him and help him through the more challenging things for him, like art. He is actually doing more in art than he did in school. They have this end of day ritual which is very loud and I just am picking him up early so he doesn't have to deal with it. They do have overnights, but I doubt that he will agree to do that. I'll try the social stories. Thanks so much. I would rely heavily on that smart 17year old councillor you were talking about. I bet your son would benifit heavily by an adult "freind" at camp. I am also a special needs councillor, but we offer one-on-one support with trained staff (a free service offered by our parks and rec department, maybe try looking into this type of thing). I would pull that councillor aside, ask if she wouldn't mind, "watching out" for your son, and maybe provide her with some reasources about autism. I bet she would be honored to be chosen for this. And who knows, you and your son could end up turning her on to a life long passion for working with exceptional children. If she agrees and things go great, i would consider getting her a special card or something made by your son at the end of camp. I bet she would love it, and then you can have at least one councillor who understands, and would be available to take your son away during a melt-down, help him with his sceduals, and just form a relationship with him. Thanks for the suggestions. I think the token idea is really great. He had a much better day yesterday. One of the counselors told me she had anxiety issues as a young child and she gave him her schedule for the day. How smart was that 17 year old? As for the name calling, we are totally putting the kabosh on that. We can't afford to get him 1:1 as he doesn't qualify for aid. It would be an extra $300 a week for us. That stinks! We provide 1:1 for no extra cost, since it's a special ed camp... Deff talk to them about the tokins, or a behavior chart.. We did a sticker for every activity where one cutie didn't push/hit. at the end of the day he got extra play time... we also send reports home to parents each day, just to let them know what we did/how it went. So glad to hear he had a better day!!!! And it's great when you get a staffer who can relate! maybe they can make him a copy? Or have him in charge of explaining to the other kids what the schedule is Your kids are lucky to have you as a counselor. I'm lucky to have my kids! But thanks for saying that  I really love working with them. I'm sure Jacob is just as fabulous! what about tokens? I work at a sp-ed camp and each child has a coffee can that they decorate. We try to 'catch them doing something good' and reward heavily during things they don't like or complying after a meltdown..We also try to recognize a meltdown as early as possible to deal/redirect and give lots of little breaks if a kid is having a rough day. We have a 3:1 ratio, I had kids Jacob's age and there were 6 adults for 9 kids (3 had 1:1 aides) Could they make him the "helper" like if he has trouble waiting, could he be in charge of handing out paper towels when others are washing their hands, he could be the "line leader" so he can do things first, and then occupy him while he waits... Also, name calling shouldn't be allowed!!! hopefully the staff is praising him in front of other kids,getting them to interact. One thing we did for a boy that was meltdown prone was make him our "helper" and he got to do things and bring one other camper with him, so all the kids interacted with him/wanted to help him. What's the ratio of staff:kids? Can you get him a 1:1 that has experience with ASD kids Really, the best way to pull him out of a meltdown is to remove him from the situation (preferably as soon as he starts to shown signs of approaching meltdown), but in order to do that, he needs an extra adult. Sorry, I don't have time to write more tonight.  Good luck. What a PECS schedule book or a timer to help with the transitions.  Quite frankly I agree with Norway Mom they need to know what the start of a meltdown looks like and pull him away before it's allowed to escalate.  The other thing with the kids making fun of him needs to be curbed by the counslers.  It's one of those things when ignorance runs wild.  I guess some questions would be what does he use to transition at home? One thing that worked for my son for waiting for the other kids at school is the teacher carries a bag of m&m's with her and if he lines up and waits he gets a handful.  My son is in a large summer day camp that he loved last year. Yesterday, the first day, I was pulled aside by the director who told me that the counselors couldn't handle his meltdowns. I was just heart sick. He had a meltdown about washing his hands before cooking, waiting for the other children and setting his towel out before swimming, and apparently some other issues. They asked me for a list of helpful hints to help them out. I told them, he needs a schedule to look at, preparation for transitions, and low expectations about group participating, ie:drama. Incentives (snacks mostly) are better than consequences for him, but they need a way to pull him out of the meltdown that gets louder and more repetative. Any ideas? I am looking for a smaller sized camp just in case this is too much right now. He told me that he was called "Mr. Rude and Mr. Lazy" by other boys.
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