“Is there nowhere for me to go”
Schooling, as we know for Children that present with special needs, be it intellectual or physical or both, is very specific and individually tailored if it’s to be effective. Today there are many local ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) classes attached to mainstream schools’ right across the County and Country. However, if your child doesn’t fit the diagnosis of ASD and has a special needs requirement, he/she needs to be facilitated in a Special School environment.
School holidays are very challenging for the student with special needs, especially the summer holidays, as they are the longest. Also, the Special Schools are usually a distance away, often over twenty miles for some families. Quite frequently the Special School is the student's only social outlet where they feel they fit in and belong. It’s these prolonged holiday periods that often leave the Special Child very isolated.
Over 31 years ago, Sinead Daffy, the parent of a special child, Donnacha, was attending a Parents Association meeting at Donnacha’s special school. A conversation around the lack of support for special children during the long holiday periods planted a seed in Sinead’s mind. One parent there told the story of her experience during the summer holiday. As she was dropping off two of her children to a regular summer camp, she also had her special child in the back of the car.
The two children going to their summer camp were full of the joys of meeting with their school buddies, anticipating a fun filled few hours of play, etc. It was probably only when they were getting out of the car that the special child realised that he wasn’t going and was excluded from this activity that had his siblings so excited. His mother glanced in the rear view mirror and saw that look on his face, the expression that said,
“Is there nowhere for me to go?"
Sinead couldn’t get the words or the image out of her head. She got together with Judy Cornally and Emily O’Meara (RIP), both parents of children with special needs and they canvassed friends and neighbors to make their dream of having a Special Summer Camp for children with special needs come true.
That first Camp in 1988 catered for 10 children and ran for one week. This summer, thirty years on, Nenagh Special Summer Camp runs for six weeks and provides holiday fun and play for over 80 Special Needs Children and adults (returning campers). A very dedicated team of adults organise a program of activities and teenagers are recruited from the local second level schools. Each Special Child has a ‘buddy’ for the week. With trips, outings and treats, it's a fun packed week for each child participating and parents get a well-deserved break.
The camp costs over €20,000 each year. A small grant is paid by the HSE and the rest is raised locally. Local businesses and community groups have contributed very generously each year. The organisers of the camp and the parents of the Special Needs Children are most grateful to all who help.