Helping Autistic Youth Attend Beneficial Summer Programming
Spectrum Insights is growing and we benefit greatly from your contributions. Our goal in 2020 is to help families in need attend our 2020 summer camp.
DPM Research has been our biggest contributor, in 2018 and 2019 they helped 2 students attend our summer program. Both students benefited great, thank you DPM research!
What is the Spectrum Insights summer camp?
A fun camp where youth, ages 12-17 who have Autism (ASD) learn the social & life skills needed to be more independent and make new friends. Many ASD teens struggle to make lasting social connections, our programs help them to make friends with like minded peers. We also program to specifically to help them navigate daily social challenges and create opportunities to make new friends.
- Learning to use OC transpo (bus and trains)
- Using money, wallets, purses and staying on budget
- Eating out with friends and socializing, restaurant etiquette
- Cooperating, communicating and problem solving
- Self Regulation & self advocating
- Learning to use google maps/planning bus trips
- Organization skills
- Daily greetings
- Remembering names
- Knowing the interests of each student
- Conversation starters & Small talk
Each week is an intensive lesson on social and life skills. We have seen tremendous progress in all our students since the camps introduction in 2012. We started out w/ 3 students, in summer 2019 we had 78 spots filled! With out funding from the Government or an angel sponsor, parents pay out of pocket for each of our programs that run all year. Some cannot afford our services. Until Spectrum insights is able to incorporate and be eligible for funding, your generous donations goes far to help families that struggle financially.
Students sponsored will connect with you and share their progress at our program. Spectrum Insights will also send updates, including photos during the students week of camp.
Summer Camp details:
- The program runs from July 6- Aug 21, Mon to Fri, 8 am till 4 pm
- We run two programs each week for youth ages 12-17
- We also offer a dedicated Girls only program called "Just for Girls"
- Its a 1:6 ratio for all groups. We keep ratios low so students have more one to one time with our leaders than other camps that have 1:10 or higher ratios.
- We offer a short lesson each morning that focuses on Social or Life skills.
- Our 2 groups break off with each leader for a greater lesson on organizing for the day, money management, budgeting and public transportation planning.
- We are out in the city of Ottawa each day from 10 am till 3pm. We often take Wednesdays to shop for food and make lunch back at camp. The students have a group budget and usually shop for ingredients to make lunches Pizza, tacos, sandwiches or nachos.
- The group eats at restaurants about 3 times/week. This helps the students learn to pay for their meals, how to read a menu, order, talk to a waiter, stay on budget and how to to socialize during a meal.
- We attend a fun activity each day: Laser Quest, Museums, Board/video game cafes, trampoline parks etc.
Your generous donation will go towards
helping a student attend our summer programs
Important but fussy disclaimer stuff
- Spectrum Insights is not a registered charity
- We are a small business and do NOT profit from any donations. Money collected goes toward helping students attend our camp or goes directly towards programming fun activities or games the kids will benefit from ie the Retrocade arcade system and projector we had a fundraiser for in 2017
- We are not able to offer tax deductible receipts. We realize this impedes opportunities for more donations. We are just happy if we can get one youth to attend our camp each year.
- Spectrum Insights is looking into how to incorporate: not for profit, Charity or Profit thus able to provide receipts for tax purposes if we go the not for profit route.
- If you have any experience in running a charity, we would love your feedback, our goal is reach as many ASD youth as possible and lesson the financial burden on parents.
For more information on Spectrum insights, please visit our site by clicking the image below or email us:
Info@spectruminsights.ca
