Handbook.pdf

HELLO!

Welcome on board the Special Needs Project. We hope you will enjoy your time with us!

We are a group of enthusiasts who want to help others and learn how to do it effectively. Most of

us are students of pedagogical or similar faculties. We want to use the opportunity that the Special

Needs Camps in the USA have given us. We want our campers to have a great time while we

develop our skills and expand the network of our professional contacts.

Your decision to take part in the Special Needs Project may be one the most rewarding

decisions you have ever made. For many people, taking part in the Special Needs Project is

a life-changing experience. There will be people and moments you will never forget. Lifetime

friendships are not unusual, and the memories of your summer in the USA may become your most

cherished treasure. So get involved, give your best, and take lots of pictures, their value will

increase with time!

This booklet has been written for you to enjoy your summer even more. It gives you advice

and some details regarding your role as a counsellor and life on a Special Needs camp (but

remember, there are thousands of Special Needs camps and it is just an example). Please read

it carefully and ask us any questions you might have by writing to questions@specialneeds.pl ,

advisably before you get on the plane. We wish you a very special time and a summer of your life!

“Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger.”

Henry Ford (1863-1947)

YOUR BENEFITS

The Special Needs Project gives you the chance to:

1. Transgress yourself. How can we ever achieve anything in life if we don’t learn to do more

than we think we can! This is precisely what we have come here for. So if you feel uncertain

whether you will cope, it just goes to prove that you should go ahead and do it!

2. Become more self-confident. If you want to walk through life energetically, spending a

summer in the United States is the best way to achieve it. Generations have known the saying

“Go west, young man!” and here you are, going west and ready to meet the challenge. It may

be one of your major life-changing experiences, and from this time on, the spirit of courage and

enterprise will never leave you!

3 . To learn to speak and communicate. On the one hand, you will have the opportunity to use

and improve your English as the foreign language you have learned at school. On the other hand,

however, you will have to pluck up the courage to come out and invite others to speak to you!

“The more friends you make, the more ice you break” – this is particularly true in the busy camp

environment, where it is essential to learn to communicate across the cultural differences and

language barriers. If your aim is to make many good friends, you will certainly achieve it! Don’t wait

for others to approach you – come out of the shell and check out the personalities around you,

don’t let anyone get out of your range!

4. To improve your professional position. If you were the employer, who would you rather

choose – someone with the international experience or without it? Make your summer with the

Special Needs Project and Camp America the outstanding point in your CV, let everyone know

about this experience! There are extremely few people in your country who have ever worked as a

counsellor at an American Special Needs camp, so you have no choice but to stand out in the

crowd!

5. To learn how to travel and to get organised. Yes, this is a skill too! Moving across foreign

airports, using the strange phones, looking for buses, buying tickets, learning what the signs mean

and when to ask for help (and where not to do it!), learning how much time is necessary for

various arrangements and how to travel cheap, this all will transform you into a seasoned world

traveller within one summer. How many people have ever been in a situation like this! Be sure that

this is another reason why your future employers will rather let You organise things than have it

done by someone else.

6. To see the USA and understand its culture. Millions of people dream of seeing America, but

so many don’t have the opportunity, the funds or the time. So many people don’t know why

Americans do things the way they do, or think the way they think. The Special Needs Project will

make you see and experience it all, form your own opinions, and just enjoy and savour this unique

and young “melting pot” culture, to which every nation in the world has contributed over the last

few hundred years.

7. To become a better human being. It cannot be repeated often enough that you will get as

much from this experience as you give to the others. In the Special Needs Project, offering the

campers your effort and time is a natural and inherent feature of the programme. It makes us

change, become less egocentric and more open to the needs of others. In fact, it may be the

biggest benefit of all.

WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE?

It is true that not everyone can become a Special Needs counsellor. It is a project for those who

give more than take. That is why we always seek those truly determined, dedicated and flexible

young leaders who are willing to take the responsibility and to accept that the world is not a

paradise yet. You need to be determined to complete the season successfully and obtain the

proud certificate, proving to oneself and to others that anything is possible and that opportunities

should be grabbed as they appear! You need to be flexible , ready to adjust your expectations to

the real world without whining, grumbling and complaining. Being enthusiastic and outgoing

helps it a lot!

Most of all, however, stay well-informed. Read this booklet carefully, attend both the pre-

departure and arrival orientations, study the Camp America Participant’s Handbook and ask

the organizer any questions you might have. This will all make your summer an experience

worth repeating, and make your campers enjoy having You as their Counselor. Good luck!

The following pages

contain excerpts

from the Southhampton Fresh Air Home

Orientation Handbook 2006.

It is a camp primarily for children

with physical disabilities, but not only.

The camp you will be going to

may be entirely different,

except for one thing -

the intention to make the campers’ summer

as valuable and happy

as possible!

This material is copyright protected

and cannot be copied, distributed or sold.

It has been made available to you

solely with the intention

of encouraging you

to take part

in the Special Needs Project.

Camp Philosophy

Summer sessions at camps give young people with disabilities the opportunity to

experience an adapted, accessible environment away from the stresses and strains of living in the

'non-disabled' world.

We believe in the principle that we operate a camp for individuals who have disabilities,

rather than the disabled; a term that we feel dehumanizes people with special needs. Our activities

are not shaped around the disabled. They are adapted to allow everyone to take part, and in doing

this we can only be limited by our imagination!

Campers are not overprotected or expected to have a purer code of morals than individuals

without disabilities. Their only commonality is some amount of physical limitation in their mobility.

With them we can be a part of creating amazing lifetime experiences, from which all involved

in the organization can learn and grow.

Staff Goals

You are the ones who ultimately decide just how great a place this is for the campers.

To do this we believe that your experience is also very important. With open communication we

can create a great camp and you should never undermine your role. You are not expected to be

superhuman to do this! You have your own unique gifts to contribute to this camp and you should

celebrate these while also learning others. Always remember: you are a role model, you're actions

justify theirs

Your first priority at all times must be Safety . We do not focus on the campers disabilities

but neither can we forget them. Just like any young people they need some help to make sure

they do the best for themselves.

You also need to aware of your own actions. You can't care for the campers if you are hurt

or unsafe

Fun !!!! The camp is here to create happy times for the campers. However their time in this

environment is limited. Remember, each day is an opportunity for you to help make a memory that

may last a lifetime; that is your choice.

Allowing and encouraging the socialization of the campers. Everyone is different and

everybody has their own standards and preferences. We can encourage the campers to get the

most out of The Southampton Fresh Air Home. It is an outdoor world that has no barriers and

unlimited potential for friendship. Nurture and encourage the maximizing of the opportunity, and

lead by example.

Help campers achieve independence. The campers do have physical limitations and they

all are able of maximizing their independence. Encourage this! Learn what they can and can't do

and try to look at things from their perspective. Never take for granted even the smallest

independent action, everything is relative.

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