Marcy Hallerman, Senior Program Director, 516-634-4173, mhallerman@friedbergjcc.org

The Friedberg JCC offers inclusion programs in both Summer @ the J for children in grades K-6 based out of our Oceanside building and for children ages 5-13 at Island Quest Day Camp at the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds in Wheatley Heights. We welcome children with all kinds of disabilities. Many campers are on the autism spectrum or have speech/language or other developmental delays.

For more information about the inclusion program at ISLAND QUEST DAY CAMP, visit Island Quest Day Camp

SUMMER @ THE J 

The Summer @ the J inclusion program is designed for children who can participate in groups of about 15 children with additional staff support. In general, any child with an IEP, 504 plan, Functional Behavior Assessment, and/or a Behavioral Intervention Plan would be considered for the program.

Our typical staff: camper ratio for a child in the inclusion program is 1:3, occasionally we may be able to provide 1:2 or 1:1 support. An inclusion specialist oversees the program, and inclusion counselors are typically college students with experience working with children with disabilities. Campers may bring their own support person, provided that person completes all Friedberg JCC clearances and signs our staff handbook agreement.

Campers need to be able to change clothes, eat, and toilet independently.

We prioritize the safety of all of our campers. If a camper harms themselves or others, or cannot participate in our program safely even with extra support from our staff, Summer @ the J may not be the right program for them.

If your camper has a physical, developmental, social/emotional, or behavioral concern and you are not sure if they would be considered as part of the inclusion program, please contact us. We can help determine if there are accommodations or supports that would benefit your child.

Please keep in mind that camp is different from school!  Some campers may have a hard time at school and do much better at camp, with a lack of academic pressures, more preferred activities, and more movement. Other campers may have a smooth year at school and struggle with camp, which has more unstructured time, and more transitions and unpredictability.

Campers who might be successful include those who:

• Are partially or fully mainstreamed in school who need social or sensory support;
• Are in self-contained classrooms, and who might have limited verbal skills or use a communication device at school, but do not have significant behavior challenges or personal care needs;
• Enjoy being in large groups of new peers for much of the day, but who may need some breaks from the group as well;
• Do well with multiple transitions each day and some level of unpredictability when they have supports in place.

Campers who might be successful if they are bringing their own support person include those who:

• Need help with personal care (eating, toileting, dressing);
• Need to be away from a large group for significant amounts of time throughout the day;
• Need one-on-one support to understand and follow a group plan;
• Struggle greatly with transitions and unpredictability.

Campers who would not be successful include those who:

• Would benefit from a therapeutic camp rather than an inclusion model;
• Those who self-injure, have aggressive behaviors with adults or peers, who run away in an unsafe way, or whose impulse control challenges prevent them from being safe in a community center setting.

Contact Marcy for more information, to schedule your mandatory, pre-camp interview, or to see which program is the best fit for your child.