Year One

Getting started:

During seventh grade, peak Covid times, I decided the summer would be too boring to accept without opportunities to keep me busy, so I decided to create one for myself. As someone coming off gymnastics and moving to competitive cheerleading, I loved the new sport I was constantly learning more about, and I wanted to share it with younger athletes who might be interested. In my young eyes, putting together a camp for kids couldn’t be too challenging, but I was quickly proven wrong. 

My first obstacle was attracting interest in the camp. I put up posters near my school, around my neighborhood, and on my mom’s Facebook, but I initially was not getting much attention, which was frustrating to me. Besides one or two people interested, I had to actively seek out registrations. This is where the hard work came in. Looking through yearbooks and parent handbooks to find email addresses of parents who might be interested in enrolling their kids took up most of my late nights in March. But much to my excitement, by the end of the month, I had successfully registered six campers.

The moment I realized this camp was going to be a big part of my life was when I started scheduling phone calls with real adults on my walks home from school. My first call was with the mother of a child with Down syndrome. I was unfamiliar with Ds at the time, although I was thrilled by the idea that someone was interested in my camp. I quickly realized that I loved putting this together and starting something entirely of my own.

Down Syndrome:

Down syndrome is a common congenital condition characterized by physical differences such as a flattened skull and shorter figure. People with Down Syndrome also experience a range of challenges in intellectual ability and social skills. This is caused by an extra copy of the 21st chromosome, called Trisomy-21. 

Once I had two kids with Down syndrome signed up, I did my research to try to understand the best way to respect their unique needs while also including them in all the activities that were planned for camp. I used documents from my carrd.co to research, as well as asking for guidance from parents of kids with Down Syndrome. After research and some thought, I decided I would strive to treat them no differently than the other kids in the camp, and I am so thankful I chose this route. Looking back, if I would have split them apart from the group, they would not have enjoyed themselves as much as they did. Although we at times had to slow the pace of the group as a whole to accommodate the girls with Ds learning needs, the group mixed well together. The girls without Ds learned that kids with Down syndrome can experience all the same emotions as they did - excitement, joy, and frustration. Often I find that some people forget that people with disabilities share the same feelings and values - such as working hard to learn the cheer dance - and sometimes assume that they lack the common humanity we all possess... Being able to watch both groups of kids be amazed by the others' focus and excitement was powerful. 

Decision Making:

After year one, I had to consider whether I would continue to mix Ds children with others, or dedicate the camp fully to Ds children. Year one taught me how much I love the parts of kids with Ds’ attitude and spice, along with their love to simply have fun with games and dances. After hearing “I love you” from a kid with Ds’ year one, this decision was easy: fully Down syndrome.