http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbjorn/2613710834/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbjorn/2613710242/

http://www.simpresca.net/photos/images/02_jpg.jpg

http://www.painetworks.com/photos/im/im1256.JPG

http://www.westmisummercamps.org/i/home-rotate/default.jpg

http://www.threerivers.gov.uk/GetResource.aspx?file=camp_fires_5.jpg

The Outdoor’s

Impact on Children

with Special NeedsBy : NB0658483

-To define outdoor education is not a easy task, because the result are individualistic. To give a basic understanding to a person with no prior input the following are a few different interpretations of outdoor education.

Outdoor education is...a means of curriculum enrichment, whereby the process of learning takes place out of doors. Outdoor education broadly includes environmental education, conservation education, adventure education, school camping, wilderness therapy, and some aspects of outdoor recreation.

Outdoor education is...interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary...an approach to achieving the goals and objectives of the curriculum.

Outdoor education is...one of a range of mediums in which to offer informal educational opportunities addressing the personal and social development of both communities and individuals

"Adventure therapy uses adventure-based activities and/or adventure-based theory to provide people having emotional and/or behavioral problems with experiences that lead to positive change in their lives.“

http://www.jamesburg.org/gmb/images/classroom.jpg

http://www.thefatproblem.com/images/kids-playing_64.jpg

Classroom versus OutdoorsClassroom versus Outdoors

What is Outdoor Education?Outdoor Education?

Outdoor experiences offer multi-dimensional benefits to children. Research links them to gains in cognitive development, self-discipline,

http://www.coeo.org/environment.htm

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v447/n7143/images/447362c-i1.0.jpg

The Benefits of the Outdoors for Children

creative expression, motor and language skills and social interactions. Children who regularly play in nature generallydemonstrate greater self-esteem, are better able to deal with stress, and are often healthier. Many believe that outdoor experiences are critical to the development of a sense of wonder that is an important motivator for life-long learning.

6

8

15

12

15

10

12

22

The Threaputic Impact of Outdoor Activities For Children with Special Needs

Adapted Soccer

Dance

Adapted Aquatics

Adapted Basketball

Social Programs

Wheelchair Softball

Art

Horseback Ridding

http://www.coeo.org/conference.htm

http://www.coeo.org/curriculum.htm

http://www.coeo.org/character.htm

http://www.coeo.org/wellbeing.htm

http://www.coeo.org/contactus.htm

Inclusionary (or mainstream) camps do just what their name implies: They include kids with special needs in their groups of children with regular needs. These camps may have started out serving only a general population of kids, but they've gradually changed as the needs of the families they serve have changed.

There are also camps designed just for kids with special needs, including kids who have learning or behavioral problems, kids with specific chronic illnesses, and kids with mental or physical impairments. Many of these camps accept kids with a variety of needs, but some camps only accept kids with specific problems.

There are even more choices to consider in terms of duration, philosophy, and cost. There are nonprofit and for-profit camps, religious camps, camps run by national organizations, private camps, day camps, camps that run weekend sessions, and sleepover camps that accept kids for the entire summer.

http://or.ucr.edu/images/pictures/centers/FamilyStudies.jpg

Rosalyn Sears of Brooklyn said that she had reservations about letting her sons, John, 10, and Darren, 12, go to camp a few years ago, but feels different now. ''For the first time,'' she said, ''John does not need my help, I know he is safe here and has learned to do things for himself.'' John, paralyzed on the right side of his body from a stroke he suffered as a baby, walks with a limp. But he can do most things for

himself at camp. Simple provisions like handles in the bathrooms help him complete a daily routine. ''I like it here,'' he said. His older brother, Darren, described his favorite camp activity, environmental science. ''It teaches you about the environment: how to take care of bugs and worms and snails, tadpoles,'' he said. ''I want to be a scientist.'' Darren and other budding scientists can see nature up close in the environmental lab, equipped with microscopes attached to projectors that magnify specimens for children who are visually impaired. Or they can hike through wooded grounds, an experience that parents and children on the weekend retreat enjoyed before heading back to camp to create puppets, go boating and visit a miniature farm. In the afternoon, they rested and then reunited for an evening of singing and games. For the children, learning is not limited to professional instruction. The camp promotes activities that teach children to learn from one another. For example, deaf children teach sign language to hearing children.

http://w

ww.youtube.com/watch?

v=aEz4OZzVXQI&feature=related

http://www.badgermeter.com/getfile/236423df-799b-48ed-92d8-ee0d5bb58709/play-button.aspx

http://social.jrank.org/pages/487/Play-What-Play.html http://wilderdom.com/definitions/definitions.html#Is http://www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2001/specialneeds/snexecsum.htm http://www.akron.com/akron-ohio-entertainment-news.asp?

aID=3381 http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/ill/

finding_camp_special_needs.hml http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?

res=9F02E4DF173DF933A15756C0A9679C8B63