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Respite Care Changes Participants' Lives
A few recent situations tell the story of how life-changing respite care can be for participants. For some, the value is being with others like themselves, for others, it’s getting away to try new activities or have fun outdoor adventures.
In one case, a mom whose autistic son had been out of control at home and in a crisis center for several months was looking for help when he returned home. We set up a respite weekend in April. That first weekend was difficult; he was upset and crying all weekend. We tried again in May and it went a little better. He was signed up for almost every weekend of summer, and by July and August he was excited to come to respite and there were no problems.
Creative Options Respite Care Program Manager Shannon McGuire attests, “We definitely see an effect on him. He’s still coming to respite care and he gets a lot out of it.”
For another participant, respite care provided the chance to help other people instead of always being helped.
Seventeen year-old Jamie has Developmental Cognitive Disabilities with Attention Deficit Disorder, although that diagnosis wasn’t made until she was 12. Michelle Gallagher, Jamie’s mom, said, “Not knowing what exactly is wrong with her for the first 12 years gave me little hope that I could help this child become a functioning adult.”
With Jamie’s diagnosis came assistance from county social services, including a list of camps and respite care programs that would help strengthen Jamie’s skills. Michelle decided a respite care weekend would be a good idea, although she had concerns.
“This is a 13-year-old child who has never spent more than 10 hours away from home,” Michelle said. “I signed her up for a spring respite weekend at Eden Wood Center with her brother. Siblings can go too and I thought we would feel all the more safe if she wasn’t completely alone. They both had a great two and a half days away from home. Jamie talked about ‘her’ camp for a week.”
That was four years ago. And Jamie’s been going to Eden Wood Center for respite care weekends in the winter and summer camp ever since. “The best part (for me) is the ride home,” Michelle said. “All Jamie does is talk, talk, talk …about the bonfire, a field trip to a water park, sleeping outdoors at night in a tent. She’s had so much fun. She even went canoeing, something I’d never have taken her out to do. She described each cabin mate and the counselors, this from a youngster who didn’t give a complete sentence response to questions in the past. She didn’t know everyone’s name in her class from school, but knew everyone from camp by name after five days.
“Jamie’s time at camp can best be described as building self-esteem,” Michelle noted. “This is a place in her life that she is not so much the helped but the helper. At school and in the outside world, Jamie is the one getting help from others. At camp she does not need constant direct support and looks forward to being a helper to the kids who need help.
“She feels pride and empowerment being able to assist others,” Michelle noted. “She wants to volunteer at Camp Eden Wood and give back some of what she’s taken home in her heart. This has been much more than a camp experience. It’s a life experience.”
Friendship Ventures is a non-profit agency that creates unique educational, recreational and social opportunities for people of all ages with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. We also offer conference and retreat services and professional team-building programs to the communities we serve. Friendship Ventures operates Camp Friendship near Annandale, MN, Eden Wood Center in Eden Prairie, MN and Camp New Hope near McGregor, MN.
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