Maryland camp will specialize in summer fun for children with autism

From The Washington Post: In the picture, teacher Kelly Egan gives Cate Root a hand before their lessons.

An award-winning St. Mary's County educator who works with disabled students full time is experimenting this month with summer camps tailored toward helping autistic children.

Personal attention is the hallmark of Rocco Aiello's week-long camp. The hands-on camp aims to improve motor and cognitive skills. Because each student has unique abilities, activities are targeted based on skill levels. Patient instructors address each child by name.

On Friday morning, 16 kids frolicked in the Great Mills swimming pool for 90 minutes. Nine staff members, including a nurse and three older students, assisted the soaked kids as they played in one corner of the large pool. A few batted beach balls around. One played with a plastic shark. Another fired a squirt gun.

Several camps in Southern Maryland are tailored to children with disabilities. For decades, St. Mary's County has offered a larger camp, called New Horizons, designed to help a broad spectrum of children with disabilities. Other camps help burn victims or those with respiratory conditions, for example.

Parents said that until now, there has been a dearth of good options for autistic youngsters during the summer.

Kevin Winchell, 43, of Mechanicsville said the camp was "the perfect opportunity" for his son, who got to know Aiello during the school year.

"When they don't have school the full year, they start to regress over the summer," Winchell said. "Rocco's like a godsend to the county."

The St. Mary's Department of Recreation and Parks sponsored the program with partial funding from public schools. Last week's camp was for ages 5 to 10. Kids 10 to 17 begin a week-long day camp tomorrow.

The man children call Mr. Rocco had long helped a friend run a summer camp in New York for blind and visually impaired children. Aiello, a certified adapted physical education teacher at Chopticon, Great Mills and Leonardtown high schools, wanted to do something closer to home.

Six of the children at last week's session aren't autistic. They were "peer models," siblings or friends who tagged along to help foster social interaction. Besides swimming, they did a lot of the same activities any child would do at a day camp. They hiked at Greenwell State Park in Hollywood, went to the library and visited a gym.

Cameron Lloyd, 9, has autism. The highlight of his week was swinging a putter on a miniature golf set. His 6-year-old brother, James, who is not autistic, loved decorating a balloon to look like a scary monster.

The program is designed to resonate with children who often need structure to cope with life's everyday challenges.

In one activity, the children made their ice cream. They put all the ingredients into a machine Aiello bought from L.L. Bean, then shook and rolled it around. The next day, everyone shared the treat. The activity was meant to provide a lesson that teamwork brings reward.

"You've got to know when to give and take," said Aiello, 55. "Sometimes it's more student-directed than teacher-directed."

Kelly Egan, 39, is one of three teachers at the camp. Egan, who first wanted to be a special education teacher when she was 10, has taught in St. Mary's since 1992.

"Children who had never been in the water before are now like little fish," she said after helping a boy float in the shallow end of the pool.

Aiello, who lives in Lexington Park and is married but has no children, has taught for 30 years. The American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation named him the 2008 Adapted Physical Education Teacher of the Year.

He has traveled to New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and Colorado to offer advice on how school systems can improve their outreach to students with disabilities. He hopes to expand the St. Mary's camp to four weeks next year and to share what worked with others across the country.