Camp ASCCA (Alabama Special Camp for Children and Adults) Easter Seals is located on Lake Martin in Jacksons’ Gap, Alabama, offering recreational and educational opportunities for all ages and disabilities. The camp is located two hours southeast of Birmingham and an hour northeast of the capital, Montgomery. The camp is year-round and offers many individualized camps and week-long residential summer camps. There are endless amounts of activities at the camp, but just to name a few they include: zip lining, swimming, archery, art & crafts, and talent shows.
I got to the opportunity to talk with the camp director, Matt Rickman, who oversees all of the camps and counselors. Rickman got involved with Camp ASCCA in 1998 as a therapeutic recreation intern. After graduating from University of West Georgia and getting certified as a CTRS (Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist), he began to work in his dream job for 9 months at a recreation center in Alabama. When he saw that Camp ASCCA had an opening for an outdoor adventure director, he could not resist the opportunity. After 5 years of being the outdoor adventure director, he stepped up as the camp director, replacing the previous director who retired. Now, after 22 years at the camp, he states, “I have been here longer than you have been born and I do not regret a single decision. I love this camp and all of the staff.”
The camp is available to all different disabilities ranging from ages 6 to the oldest camper being 86 years old. Rickman quotes in our interview, “Some of our campers have been coming since the first year it opened. The relationships we hold with the campers and families are the strongest things about the organizations and a lot of the weekend camps that we serve, such as the organizations I mentioned. Some of those relationships go back 20-30 years.” Many organizations work with Camp ASCCA by bringing in their participants and hosting their own camp. They have had campers that are associated with local diabetes organizations, to participants from the local Autism Association. There are no limits when it comes down the disability and functionality. A person does not need to be part of these organizations to go to camp. They just need to sign up and enjoy the camp atmosphere! The most common disability that appears at the camp is intellectual disabilities, which includes Autism and Down Syndrome.
“From our vantage point, they are campers, just people. The disability is a far second. We just focus on the person.”
When signing your child up for a new camp, disability or not, it is a stressful situation for both the parents/caregivers and child. Rickman is aware of this situation as he has children of his own and remembers the thoughts going through his mind the minute he dropped them off on the first day. He wants to ensure that the new parents who sign their child up at Camp ASCCA have nothing to worry about. He states, “It's one of my favorite things about having my job. Having a real nervous parent and it’s their first time and it’s a success and the camper comes the year and the year after. It’s a great story.”
The camp holds a weekend camp in April that is focused towards new families called Rookie Camp. Rickman plans this weekend for families to come in and get a feel for the area and ask questions. He will mix newcomers with veteran families to get their side of things and to get more personal inputs.
Once their child’s camp begins, he will sometimes get phone calls from the parents to check in. “If a parent calls me that Monday morning and asks how they did, I will go check on them immediately if I do not know how the camper did and go find the counselor. They are nervous, I get it. This is sometimes the first time the parents and the child are apart for a long period of time.” Camp ASCCA goal is to make sure everyone is comfortable and having a good time. At the end of the camper’s session, each camper is sent home with a postcard with a picture of the camper and counselor on it and it has a personal note telling them about their day or week at the camp. There are also pictures of the campers posted on the website every day for the parents to view at any time.
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