How three special teenagers with disabilities became CITs - Variety Club's counselor-in-training program
Jennifer M. Graham"Relax! I know you can do it! You can float, just relax!" said Dan Lafferty, a counselor-in-training, to his 6-year-old camper at Sesame Day Camp in Blue Bell, Pa. It's a familiar scene in summer camps all over America. But this is one of the few scenes in which the counselor-in-training has mental retardation and the camper does not.
In a unique program run cooperatively by Variety Club Camp and Developmental Center in Worcester, Pa., and Sesame Day Camp, three teenagers, including Lafferty, with developmental delays learned to be CITs. According to Jeff Davidson, program coordinator and recreational therapist with Variety Club, "Our goal is to help our CITs find employment at regular day camps as junior counselors." Nationwide, 85 percent of teenagers with disabilities are unable to find summer jobs.
Variety Club Camp and Sesame Day Camp are both accredited by the American Camping Association and are only a few miles apart. Ann Doloff, executive director of Variety Club Camp, and Howard Batterman, director of Sesame Rockwood Camps, began discussing plans for this special program three years ago.
Training
Last summer, through an intensive four-week training at Variety Club, the CITs learned every aspect of a typical day camp junior counselor's program. Each activity was broken down into smaller tasks; specific goals were set for each CIT. The CITs worked with other day campers at Variety Club, most of whom have mild to moderate developmental delays.
The Variety Club Camp CITs studied more intensely than other counselors-in-training. They spent four hours each day in the classroom. They learned about every aspect of being camp counselors, from the basic chain of command at a camp to basic first aid and emergency care. In addition, they learned about child development and behavior management. Every aspect of day camp routine was analyzed, practiced, reviewed, and evaluated. Much of the curriculum was modeled after the American Camping Association and Camp Fire, Inc. programs for CITs, but every aspect of the curriculum had to be adapted to meet the special needs of these teenagers. "It is also introspective in that we help them identify their own responsibilities and teach them when they need to pass on that responsibility. They also learn about body language and tone of voice," noted Doloff.
Davidson and his staff taught the counselors-in-training to assist with swimming lessons. The CITs worked one-on-one with each other in the pool. Swimming was broken down into small components. "Do you float? Let me see you float," Davidson commanded. "What do you do to float?" His goal was to make the CITs think about the whole process, visualize it, and then physically experience the process of floating. This same swimming lesson was repeated six to eight times over the course of one week. Next, the CITs practiced hands-on teaching with younger campers at Variety Club. They reviewed the swimming instruction routines over and over again before they began their work at Sesame Day Camp.
Davidson and Tamara Getz, director of the day camp CIT program at Variety Club, evaluated the CITs on a daily basis. Like Davidson, Getz is a certified therapeutic recreational specialist. Getz role played with the CITs to refine their interpersonal skills. She observed their daily activities and often videotaped their work for later review. Both Davidson and Getz expected the most appropriate behavior from the CITs; however, they were always available to intervene with support and instruction if a difficult situation arose and it appeared that the lead counselors and the CITs would be unable to resolve it themselves.
Preparing for the CITs
Davidson and Getz met with Batterman's staff during training sessions to discuss the collaborative program. They openly addressed the staff's concerns about working with challenged CITs. In addition, Batterman sent parents a letter outlining the program and the support role of the CITs from Variety Club Camp. The CITs worked with two groups of 5- to 7-year-old campers.
Working
In August 1995, during the hottest week of the summer, the Variety Club CITs joined the staff at Sesame Day Camp. They worked all day with schedules similar to other CITs'. With the lead counselors' instruction, Davidson's and Getz's hidden support, and numerous water breaks they put in the full week and did well.
Dan Lafferty worked at the pool for instructional and recreational swims. All week he helped the campers with the same strokes. Taking direction from his lead counselors at Sesame Day Camp, not from Davidson or Getz, Dan successfully supported the swimming instructor and lifeguards. He knew basic emergency procedures and the pool rules. His confidence and self-esteem grew as the campers accepted him as just another CIT.
The counselors at Sesame were also supportive of the counselors-in-training. Wendy Keefer, a Sesame Day Camp counselor, worked with Estella Andrews, a Variety Club Camp CIT, and noted, "It's been a good experience for the CITs and the kids. Estella is becoming more outgoing and more relaxed. One week is a short amount of time to warm up to this setting and to feel comfortable. If she had four to six weeks here, we'd see a big change and she'd be more of a caretaker with the kids."
Lauren Leiter, a head counselor who worked with Christi Schott, said, "Christi has been absolutely wonderful. She has been enthusiastic and always knows what's going on. The kids love her and she was right in there the first day. I was really very impressed with the way she could read what the kids wanted before they even said anything."
Christi was very excited about working as a CIT, but she also found that it could be difficult. "It's hard to keep an eye on kids when they run away from us. I go over and ask them nicely to join the group. But the best part is being with the kids all day and having lots of fun with them."
Continuing the program
Variety Club is seeking funding to run the training program during the fall, winter, and spring so that the teenagers can work as full-time CITs during full summer sessions at regular day camps. According to Doloff, "We would like to work in collaboration with chosen schools during the school year to assist individuals to complete the program and find jobs the next summer. We could serve more kids in that scope, too. Child care is a very realistic job opportunity for a lot of these individuals. This program will give them a real edge for jobs in the community."
The American Camping Association awarded the Eleanor P. Eells award to Variety Club Camp for its CIT program. The award is designed to:
* motivate staff to develop effective, creative responses to the needs of people through camp,
* encourage the development of creative responses to societal problems through camp,
* stimulate the exchange of creative ideas with others,
* promote, in and out of the camp field, the positive impact camp makes to the well-being of individuals and society, and to
* give recognition and honor those whose programs exemplify these objectives.
Dan Lafferty will return to the Variety Club/Sesame Day Camp CIT program this summer. Estella Andrews is still undecided about her plans for the summer. Christi Schott was offered employment in another camp, but she and her family wanted to spend another year in the Variety Club/Sesame Day Camp program.
For more information about Variety Club and its programs, call 610-584-4366, or write Variety Club Camp and Developmental Center, Valley Forge and Potshop Rds., P.O. Box 609, Worcester, PA 19490.
Sesame Day Camp can be reached at 610/275-CAMP (2267), or Sesame Rockwood Camps, 170 Yost Rd., Blue Bell, PA 19422.
Jennifer M. Graham is a freelance writer whose articles focus on the achievements of children with disabilities. She is the mother of four children; her oldest son has Down Syndrome and has been a Variety Club camper for five years. She expects that his first job as a teenager will be through the Variety Club Camp CIT program.
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