Camp Royall Adapts to Take Care of Campers This summer, we were thrilled to be able to open Camp Royall so that campers could again have the best summer ever. They were splashing in the pool, singing songs at Shady Circle, and learning new skills. They were greeting old friends and making new ones! The past several months have been hard on everyone, and many things have changed. But what hasn’t changed is the strength of our autism community. We thank our supporters for enabling us to offer these opportunities to campers and to their families, who enjoyed some much-needed respite while knowing their loved ones were well taken care of. Our safety efforts began long before campers arrived at Camp Royall. In planning, Autism Society of North Carolina followed best-practice guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Camping Association, the NC Department of Health and Human Services, and local health officials. We had to completely change our camp structure so that we could maintain smaller groups that did not interact with any other camper groups. Unfortunately, this meant fewer campers were able to attend this year. All campers were asked to screen their health for two weeks before arriving at Camp Royall and stay home if they were not feeling well. (We enacted flexible cancellation and refund policies.) Camp staff arrived at Camp Royall two weeks before opening to train on all of our new safety protocols, such as increased hand washing, social distancing, and sanitizing. We commend them for taking all of our cautionary measures seriously and helping campers to understand and follow all guidelines through the use of social narratives, modeling, and visual supports such as physical markings.
The facility team also went above and beyond to ensure we had all of the supplies and staff to support extra cleaning and the delivery of meals, which campers ate with their small groups in a home base, rather than in the dining hall. Small groups spent all of their indoor time in these home bases, and then rotated into outdoor activity spaces. These spaces were sanitized between small groups, and no activity equipment was shared. During camp, all staff wore face coverings all day, and campers who could tolerate masks also wore them; everyone received a temperature check three times a day. Even with all of these changes, campers were able to have their best summer ever at Camp Royall! Joshua C., who has been coming to Camp Royall since he was very young, said thinking about camp and seeing everyone again has made him happy! His favorite camp activities are the pool and the campfires. His dad says, “Whether it’s having a place other than home to go where my boys can be just who they are and be loved for it, or gaining skills like communication and making lifelong friends, or just giving our family a chance to breathe and get some much-needed R&R, Camp Royall has been a blessing beyond words. You know a place is great when a kid on the spectrum who prefers not to talk can always be relied upon to say ‘camp’ and smile while doing it!” Lia’s favorite part about Camp Royall is hanging out with her friends. She also loves to play outside, do arts and crafts, and
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Complete the form: www.autismsociety-nc.org/edelivery 10 • The Spectrum, Summer 2020
