Camps & Experiences for Autistic young people & families
Book a Camp or Experience now
Camp bookings are paused.
We have made the decision to pause our camp bookings for now.
We recognise with so much change in the NDIS space, it is becoming increasingly difficult for some families and plan managers wanting to use their community and social funding which is available. We are awaiting updates from the NDIS in their operating guidelines and pricing arrangements – and we look forward to gaining further clarity and understanding.
We are also eager to await outcomes for foundational supports as they are developed and any opportunities or grants we can find to support our autistic community to be supported to connect.
About Our Camps for Autistic Young People
Spectrum Adventures Camps aim to strengthen families and communities by encouraging families of autistic children to build their village with like-minded people. Families find immense value in hearing about the experiences and shared support of other families going through similar experiences.
Our camps help autistic children develop stronger relationships by providing opportunities for new experiences in a safe and nurturing environment. The program includes a range of team work / problem solving activities that encourages personal growth and strengthens family relationships. Parents have often expressed joy and surprise at seeing their child try out a new activity and then develop greater confidence in their own ability.
Our families have found immense joy in watching their children form friendships. Continued friendships are encouraged through the formation of our camp parent network and some camp families now regularly socialise outside of the camp environment.
Children leave camp with greater self-esteem, knowing that they can achieve. Families leave feeling empowered and connected.
Camp Details
Our camps run for across two nights and three days. Team building and adventure activities are scheduled to run over the duration, with meals and planned time for socialising in between. Families engage in a range of activities that suit various ages and abilities. Parents are expected to join in on activities with their children to help develop their capacity and strengthen family relationships.
Families with multiple children that require 1-1 support have been requested to bring along another adult family member or their support worker to ensure that each of their children requiring 1:1 support can be supported to engage in the activities.
Parent education and training is supported with Allied Health sessions during the camp with a range of talks and discussion opportunities helping to deliver learning opportunities to families to understand and support their child’s needs.
Peer-led discussions are also on offer, allowing parents to share their lived experience and insight, building strength in community.
Each family is provided with a camp welcome book full of articles to guide and educate parents further including understanding and supporting sensory needs, parenting strategies for demand avoidance children, and more.
Our camp library offers parents and children access to additional resources available during camp across a wide range of topics that are autistic led, and include accessible content around the neurodiverse experience.
Parents are able to then return home with new knowledge around such resources, and embed strategies around supporting their children’s needs in everyday life.
Throughout the camp, families are also able to access additional activities at their leisure, that develop fine and gross motor skills. Children and adults alike will be able to engage in arts and crafts, gross motor play equipment, puzzles, board and card games and Lego. This unstructured time allows children the opportunity to practice their social skills and develop friendships. Our camp support staff support the development of friendships by modelling and encouraging social skills.
Spectrum Adventure’s camps feature a Calming Room that has been developed in consultation with an Occupational Therapist.
The room contains emotional regulation tools and equipment, such as swings, a calming canoe and small emotional regulation tools, which will help participants regulate if they are feeling overwhelmed.
Parents and children will be able to trial a number of emotional regulation tools and equipment and will be able to further develop their knowledge of emotional regulation strategies. Through using the Calming Room, families have also exchanged strategies and have left camp armed with greater knowledge about how to support positive emotional regulation.
Families are accommodated in private rooms to ensure that they have their own personal space to retreat to. The camp is fully catered, with all meals, accommodation and activities being provided and co ordinated to meet your Autistic family’s needs ( all of this paid for out of non-NDIS funds and has been since our first camp – see the camp pages for detail).
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