by Daniel Parker, RDPFS Intern
While it’s still the middle of winter, the time is coming to sign up for summer camps and other seasonal experiences. In the coming weeks, this Bulletin will be covering camps, internships, and scholarships that specialize in programs focusing on youth with vision loss.
The various Camp Abilities in many locations are gearing up for their seasons, especially those offered between May and August. Camp Abilities is a network of independent educational sports camps for youth who are blind, have low vision, or are deaf-blind. You can read more about them in coverage in a previous Bulletin. Although the large number of virtual camps from the last few years does not seem to be materializing in 2023, a few such as the National Federation of the Blind (NFB)’s BELL Academy, which teaches braille and other independent living skills to children ages four to twelve, retain a virtual option along with their in-person camps at various locations. There are several online listings of adaptive summer camps. This list of programs has 141 camps, filterable by state, and another has 15 from all across the country. In addition, National Camps for Blind Children (NCBC) partners with camps nationwide, maintains a list of these, and may sponsor one camp per camper in a season. The resources linked above can help you choose the best camp for the needs of your child or student.
