Who is the camp for?

Spectrum Adventures Camps are designed for Autistic young people to attend and form social connection, families attend alongside attending workshops, accessing resources and to participating in activities as a family unit.

The majority of the camp activities are for children aged 5 years and beyond, however, some camps have activities and workshops for just the older participants such as workshops around future work opportunities post school, or our teen talks which are an open peer-led discussion around gender and sexuality and neurodivergence..

Children younger than 4 years are welcome to attend camp, but may not be able to participate in all of the activities due to the complexity of the activities and venue requirements. If you have younger children, please ensure that you bring along another parent or adult family members that will be able to attend the activities with your older children.

Our younger children will be delighted with the regulation/sensory room on offer and we always offer art and craft, fine and gross motor activities, puzzles and games.

How long will camp run for?

Our camps run from Friday 5pm to Sunday mid afternoon.

Will you provide supervision for my children?

Whilst we will provide additional staff to support the running of the camp, children will remain under the care and supervision of their parents.

Parents are expected to join in on activities with their children to help develop their capacity and strengthen family relationships.

Children will remain in their parents care at all times.

If you are attending with multiple children and your children have high support needs (e.g., needing 1 on 1 support), please consider bringing along an adult for each child, such as both parents, an aunt, uncle, grandparent or support worker.

Do my children need to be competent swimmers?

For those with children that do not swim well, please bring along any floatation vests that you would normally use.

Parents will be required to be in the pool with their children that are not competent swimmers to ensure that they are actively supervised and supported. Parents will need to supervise their children when their children are in the water.

What activities will be provided?

For a list of activities, please check the Camp Information pdf listed under each camp, as the activities vary from camp to camp.

We will have a range of activities across the camps, each camp location brings its own natural delights to enjoy as well as provide unstructured time for children to meet and make connections.

In accordance with NDIS guidelines, our camp includes NDIS support costs and also costs that are not to be paid by the NDIS (non-NDIS supports) – activities for your young person and any family members who attend is a non-NDIS cost.

What type of accommodation is on offer and what will it cost?

All camp families will have their own private rooms to stay in. Our accommodation options do vary, from hotel room style accommodation (the entire family accommodated in one room) to multiple room apartments for larger families.  All of the different accommodation options and pricing is available on the Accommodation Options pdf.

Pricing varies depending on the number of family members attending and which accommodation options you select.

In accordance with NDIS guidelines, our camp includes NDIS support costs and also costs that are not to be paid by the NDIS (non-NDIS supports) – accommodation for your young person and any family members who attend is a non-NDIS cost.

Can I bring more than one autistic child?

Of course! We welcome the entire family. The pricing does not change if you have multiple participants and would like to use funding from each of their plans – splitting the cost between plans can make it easier for some families.

We do ask that if you have a number of children with high support needs, that you bring sufficient adults to be able to support each of your children.

Will food be provided?

Absolutely! We acknowledge that spending time as a family participating in activities can be tiring, so we will provide all of the food. We will provide breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as morning and afternoon tea. Most of our meals will be buffet style, with a few different variations per meal (e.g., pizza night or a BBQ dinner night). As the meals are provided buffet style, there is some flexibility around when you attend for the meals.

We will be providing breakfast, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea and dinner as set meals during camp – as per NDIS guidelines we will invoice you seperately for food costs as part of our event as a non-ndis expense.

We understand that many adults and children may have limited diets or food intolerance’s/allergies. Provided that you let us know at registration, we aim to cater for any intolerances or dietary requirements. For children and adults with sensory challenges around food, we can provide alternative meals, such as chicken nuggets & chips, or a spaghetti bolognaise. We will ask for you to provide information regarding choices in your camp booking forms.

There will also be a fridge in each cabin for you to bring any additional food and many of our accommodation options feature either a full or a basic kitchen.

In accordance with NDIS guidelines, our camp includes NDIS support costs and also costs that are not to be paid by the NDIS (non-NDIS supports) – food for your young person and any family members who attend is a non-NDIS cost.

What happens if my child or I become overwhelmed?

We all understand that children, and adults alike, can become overwhelmed. If you or your child need a break from activities, that’s absolutely okay.

Our calming room will be open throughout the day. We also have  quieter activities available, such as art and craft activities, movies, and card games for those that need some quiet time or time away from activities.

What should I pack/bring?

We recommend bringing enough clothing for 2 nights and 3 days, plus a few spare changes of clothes, in case of wet/muddy weather or they become unclean from an activity. Toiletries, medication, closed in shoes and any personal emotional regulation tools you require.

We will provide a full list of what to pack in your registration forms.

Covid Safe Plan

We operate under a Covid Safe Plan. In line with current Queensland Health requirements, and we ensure our staff meet the relevant Queensland Health vaccination requirements. Should any of our requirements change around our guests and families we will keep you informed.

Handwash stations are provided, and we encourage you all to bring your own individual water bottles to top up and prevent the spread of germs.

NDIS payments

We can only accept registrations from self-managed or plan managed

NDIS participants – we will need to prepare a service agreement and confirmation funds are held and reserved for your camp invoice for payment to be made immediately following camp delivery.

Some plan managers are able to quarantine or hold funds against your plan for this to happen – we recommend checking with your plan manager if they can do so.

Our camp requires a non-NDIS claimable payment for each person attending & a signed service agreement to be held to secure your attendance.

In accordance with NDIS guidelines, our camp includes NDIS support costs and also costs that are not to be paid by the NDIS (non-NDIS supports).

The $150 per person covers the costs the NDIS does not cover including:

• costs around travel, such as travel to our location wjhere we host our camp.
• activity costs including the private activities held at camp as a group that help you reach your goals of making shared connections with peers and others.
• meal costs provided at camp which we deliver to you as a buffet option, providing access to shared dining with peers and the opportunity to enjoy food shared with peers and expand eating habits.
• accommodation costs for you to stay at our onsite camp location.
• any of the above costs which are applicable for your family member’s attendance.

If you ask for additional night/s accommodation at our camp venue to assist your young person’s transition to our event this is to be billed at our venue’s full commercial rate, and cannot be claimed against the NDIS plan.

NDIS participants can claim the rest of the cost of the camp from the following categories:

Core – Community, Social and Recreational Activities (04_210_0125_6_1)
This support is included in a participant’s plan to enable them to pursue recreational activities and engage in the community when associated with a participant’s disability and goals. Participants may use this funding for activities such as camps, vacation and outside school hours’ care, course or membership fees.

Capacity Building – Increased Social & Community participation (09_011_0125_6_3)
Participation in community based activities that build skills and independence.

If your family has more than one NDIS participant, the costs may be split between each of their plans. Please specify this on your registration form.

Please check that you have the funding in the right categories.

Core funding is flexible, so provided you have sufficient funding within Core, you will be able to claim the cost of this camp.

Can I use CB Daily Living to pay for the camp?

Unfortunately, no. If you do not have any of the above funding categories available, we can provide you with a quote for the camp to take to NDIS to request funding at your next review. We cannot use funds out of CB Daily Living.

What is your cancellation policy?

Spectrum Adventures understands that sometimes family circumstances can change quite suddenly. If your family needs to cancel attending the camp and we have another family on the waiting list that can take their place, we will endeavour to fill your position with another family.

Cancellation must be given in writing.

If less than 30 days before the start of the camp, the non-NDIS deposit will be forfeited.

If less than 10 working days’ notice is provided and we are not able to fill your position with another family, the participant agrees to pay for the full cost of the camp. This is because we will have already been charged by our venue and ordered provisions for your family for the camp, and we have already confirmed our team of staff to suport your attendance at camp, including Allied Health team and Qualified Disability support workers.