The Family Retreat Weekend at YMCA Camp Bernie on June 7-9, 2013, was the first one we attended. I was worried that the whole experience might be too much for him, and he did react very impulsively quite a few times.
My son gets overstimulated extremely easily and deteriorates quickly, so we didn’t partake in anything extra — just being there, around others, meeting some people, was enough for him.
It was really great for him to talk to the other kids there and find out that they had the same issues and he does, and some of them said how they grew out of them. That is HUGELY VALUABLE to him (and me) to know! I will be able to use examples of that as we move forward.
It was wonderful for my son to see other kids with Tourette. He hadn’t seen that before. And it was priceless to hear him speak to the older kids, who told him he would grow out of a lot of things he was experiencing. I believe it is very important for him to believe that — for his self esteem!
We are looking forward to next year’s camp, and I will be able to prepare him better next time because we will both know what to expect.
