Summer Camps With A Mental Health Focus

Boston Nature Center Day Camp

www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Boston/camp.php
617-983-8500
E-mail:

Description of Services: All inclusive camp for children ages 6-13. Specializes in working with children with attention deficit disorder, asthma and respiratory ailments, autism. Mass Audubon, Boston Nature Center, Mattapan.

Bridge Center Summer Camps

www.thebridgectr.org/summercamp.html
508-697-7557, x17
E-mail:

Description of Services: Camp opportunities for all children, regardless of the nature or severity of their disability. Specialized camps (including horse camps) offer best-matched peer groups for your child, targeted supports for campers, staff with specific training, and activities designed to be engaging and developmentally- and age-appropriate for each group of campers. Camp is offered to children and adolescents aged 4-22. Bridgewater.

Camp Aranu'tiq

www.camparanutiq.org/home.html
617-467-5830

Description of Services: Camp Aranu'tiq is a weeklong, overnight summer camp for transgender and gender-variant youth ages 8 through 15. It was born out of the idea that transgender and gender-variant youth needed a safe place to relate to others like them, away from home, in a beautiful rural setting where they can concentrate on what every camper loves: having fun. Camp is located in Southern New England, a 2-hour drive from both New York & Boston. Due to the sensitive nature of the program, the exact location of Aranu'tiq can be obtained by interested parents and campers by contacting Camp Aranu'tiq directly.

Camp Arrowhead

web.me.com/camparrowhead/Site/Welcome.html
508-647-6530
Natick Recreation & Parks Department/Parents Association of the Handicapped
E-mail:

Description of Services: Recreational program for ages 5-22 with mild to severe disabilities. Natick.

Camp Confidence

www.confidenceconnection.org/Summer-Camp.html
781-433-9890
E-mail:

Description of Services: Day program for children and teens aged 3-12 designed to meet the developmental, social, and behavioral needs of children with PDD-NOS/Autism, speech and language delays, ADHD, cognitive delays and related challenges. Principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) are used to targets skills by creating a motivating operation (reinforcing situation), reinforcing positive behavior and modifying goals and objectives using data collection. Camp Confidence includes academic skills training in a 1:1 and 2:1 setting, social pragmatic groups, music therapy, speech therapy, APE/KidFit and team-building groups targeting communication and group skills. Children will be carefully placed in clinically-sound small groups to enhance their experience. Needham.

Camp Grossman

www.jccgb.org/camp-and-summer/grossman/specialprograms.php
Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston
617-244-5124
Contact: Diane Saltzberg
E-mail:

Description of Services:for ages 4 1/2 to 15 with mild to moderate disabilities. Children are included in general camp program but have specially trained counselors who move with them throughout the day. Westwood.

Camp Joy

www.cityofboston.gov/BCYF
617-635-4920 x 2402
E-mail:

Description of Services: Recreational and therapeutic summer camp for Boston residents ages 3-22 with disabilities and their families Focus on making new friends, fun, learning and growing during the summer months.

Camp Lightbulb

www.camplightbulb.org
PO Box 1477, Provincetown, MA 02657
E-mail:

Description of Services: Camp Lightbulb is a weeklong, overnight summer camp for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) young people aged 16-18. The Camp's mission is to provide a safe, supportive and fun camp experience. The Camp will fully incorporate Provincetown's unique place in American history, as an artists' colony, a vibrant LGBT haven, all surrounded by outstanding natural beauty. There is a strong focus on Art; Fun; Fitness, Wellness and Nutrition and Counseling.

Camp Starfish

www.campstarfish.org/daycamp.html
978-368-6580
E-mail:

Description of Services:Overnight, day and family camp in Rindge, NH, for children ages 7-17 with ADHD, depression, anxiety, bipolar, or other clinical diagnoses.

Camp Stepping Stones

www.hns.org/communityevents/campsteppingstones/tabid/120/default.aspx
978-774-5100
E-mail:

Description of Services: Weekend day camp for children of all ages and families who have experience the death of someone close to them. Glen Urquhart School, Beverly Farms, MA.

Circle of Tapawingo

www.circleoftapawingo.org
781-820-3388
E-mail:

Description of Services: Circle of Tapawingo is a week-long overnight camp program for girls between the ages of eight and sixteen who have experienced the death of a parent. The mission includes offering campers the adventures and fun of living and playing together at a beautiful, traditional overnight camp in Maine while also offering a supportive place in which to share their grief. Camp is free to campers and transportation is provided from Newton, Massachusetts to camp in Maine.

Comfort Zone Camp

comfortzonecamp.org
(804) 377-3430
E-mail:

Description of Services: For children, ages 7-17 who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver. The free camps include confidence building programs and age-based support groups that break the emotional isolation grief often brings. Comfort Zone Camps are held year-round in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia.

The Drama-Play Connection

www.dramaplayconnection.com
781-899-1160
Contact: Liana Morgens
E-mail:

Description of Services: Program for ages 9-18 with Asperger’s Disorder, nonverbal learning disabilities, and other pragmatically-based social difficulties. Waltham.

JCC Maccabi Camp Kingswood: Zohar

www.kingswood.org
617-558-6528

Description of Services: Zohar camping program is designed to meet the social and religious needs of developmentally challenged Jewish adolescents. Zohar fully integrates these youth into camp life; they participate in all camp-wide programs and daily events with the support and supervision of specially trained staff. Zohar campers are children with developmental disabilities, high functioning spectrum disorders, and neurological and learning challenges.

Newton Special Athletes - Camps

www.newtonspecialathletes.com
Newton Park and Recreation Department, Newton, MA
(617) 796-1527
E-mail:

Description of Services: Community-based therapeutic recreation camps for residents with disabilities. Serving campers from preschool through age 21 years. Programs provide and encourage physical, social, emotional and intellectual development. Newton.

Oasis at Camp Emerson

www.campemerson.com/oasis
212 Longview Avenue, Hinsdale, MA 01235 (summer)
91 Minuteman Road, Ridgefield, MA 06877 (winter)
800-782-3395
E-mail:

Description of Services:.A five-day camp and family retreat where autistic children and their families can come together, enjoy camp activities, get some needed rest and have a vacation together. For both boys and girls, ages 10–17, with high functioning Autism or Aspergers, their families and typical siblings. Hinsdale.

Summer Treatment Program, Judge Baker Children’s Center

www.jbcc.harvard.edu/STP/stp.html
617-278-4261
E-mail:

Description of Services: Day camp for children ages 6-12 with ADHD and Disruptive Behavioral Problems. Group activities include behavioral modification sessions conducted by developmental specialists. Sessions focus on treatment of problem behaviors in a classroom context, and may include individualized and computer-assisted instruction, as well. The remainder of each day consists of recreationally-based, age-appropriate games and group activities, with implementation of a variety of integrated treatment components. Boston.

Transitions

www2.massgeneral.org/youthcare/teen_csd.html
Massachusetts General Hospital Youth Care Program
617-726-0060
E-mail:

Description of Services:Summer Explorations for ages 13-16 offers community-based opportunities to practice daily living skills; andCareer Development for ages 15-19 to learn about career development. Both programs are for teens with Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, or Nonverbal Learning Disorder. Wellesley.

Wediko Summer Program

www.wediko.org
617-292-9200

Description of Services:Residential program for boys and girls ages 7-18 from diverse social backgrounds with a history of difficulty coping with the daily demands of living in a social world. New Hampshire.

YouthCare Summer Program

www2.massgeneral.org/youthcare/programs_summer.html
Massachusetts General Hospital Youth Care Program
617-726-0060
E-mail:

Description of Services:YouthCare Camps for children ages 6-15. Charlestown and Westwood.Summer Social Clubfor ages 6-12. Wellesley. Both programs are for children with Asperger's Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, PDD-NOS, and other Non-Verbal Learning.

Additional Resources:

American Camping Association of New England

781-541-6080
E-mail:

www.acane-camps.org/camp/findcamp.php

Brave Kids

www.bravekids.org/camps

Camps for Children With Autism, ADHD/ADD, Cancer, Cerebral Palsy and Special Needs Children

Easter Seals of Massachusetts

800-922-08290
E-mail:

www.eastersealsma.org

Federation for Children with Special Needs

617-236-7210
E-mail:

www.fcsn.org

KidsHealth.org

Finding a Camp for Your Child with Special Needs