We had our first family camp this summer, with an autistic staff and kids with their families. In our quietly radical way, we turned over the usual paradigm of strict lines dividing abled from disabled. One of the most compelling observations for me in support of what we are doing was with a child who was cooperative and fun and often made people smile – but then we found out that he has often been labeled with “behavior problems” even though we never saw that side of him. We didn’t change him; we just made an environment where he could be included and communicate as himself.
Here are a few pictures of that experience.
Later in the year we will be releasing report of the camp with video, comics, and text. A big thanks to the staff, some of whom traveled long distances to be here for the month.
In other news, our board of directors has gone through a renewal in the past year. We have six new directors in New Mexico with lots of new energy. Another big thanks to the original board members who kept us going since inception in 2013.
In service,
Star Ford, Program Manager