Tag Archives: day camp

A Great First Day

I talked to my boys last night! Of course I love to talk to them anyway when they’re in LA, because I miss them, but last night I was excited to hear about Nigel’s first day at the Village Glen Day Camp. It sounds like he had a great day! I asked him if he met any kids his age and he mentioned three boys that he had met, with their names and ages. One of them is also thirteen, which made me so happy for Nigel, since the NT kids his age are socially more mature than he is. I’m so glad that he met someone his age who is also at his developmental level, someone he can just be himself with.

Next I asked him what they did at the day camp. In his typical flat, but beautiful, voice he told me how they “played inside games because it was hot outside.” Also typical is having to drag information out of him if he is talking about anything other than an OW.

Me: What kinds of inside games?

Nigel: Charades and board games.

Me: Which board games?

Nigel: Clue and Battleship and Jenga.

I wanted to ask how he did with Charades, but I figured he wouldn’t know how to answer that. Instead, I smiled, visualizing him playing with his three new friends.

Me: Did you like your first day?

Nigel: Yes, I had a good time.

A huge thank you to Alexis and Niika for making this possible!

Nigel’s Opportunity

When I recently wrote about my sons going to visit their father in Los Angeles for several weeks, I mentioned that one of the good things about that is that they can do things in LA that they wouldn’t be able to do in southern Oregon. Tomorrow Nigel will start attending a summer day camp program that is specifically designed for high-functioning autistic (and Asperger) kids. Nigel is so excited about “meeting kids like me!” He had to do a phone interview last month with the program’s coordinator to make sure that his level of functioning would be compatible with the group, and it sounded like he did fine.

I am so grateful to my brother and sister-in-law, Alexis and Niika, who live in southern California, for researching this program and offering this time to Nigel as a gift. I appreciate their generosity and this opportunity that they have provided for Nigel. He has long been looking forward to becoming friends with kids who will “understand my differences,” as he puts it.  He is probably also hoping to meet a friend who will share his enthusiasm for planning an Oregon Trail trip or will help him to Rube-Goldberg the house! I just hope he has fun and enjoys doing what he loves so much: hanging out with his peers, feeling like he belongs.