Summer Camp & Autism: Physical Activities that changed everything

This Autism Labs episode highlights how real-world, community-based experiences can drive meaningful progress for individuals with autism. Mike Carr previews the J13 summer camp, reflecting on last year’s success with activities like rock climbing, horse therapy, and visits to inclusive places like Morgan’s Wonderland. These engaging, social, and novel environments fostered growth, joy, and resilience—especially for those with profound autism—showing that consistent exposure to the real world can spark breakthroughs beyond what science alone can predict.

Transcript

Mike Carr (00:01):

Welcome back to another Autism Labs podcast. And while a lot of what we cover is the science and the technology and the use of ai, what I want to talk about today is what really helps someone with autism, what moves the needle? Because there's a lot of science in theory, but when the boots are on the ground, you sort of get a different perspective. And we're about to launch our summer camp this year. I think we've got a dozen or so adults with autism, some with severe profound autism, all kinds of behavior problems, nonverbal. But we also have some folks that are higher functioning. And when you pull all those people together and you get them out into the community, which what we're going to be doing during this summer camp, you really do see what works and where the science and the theory falls short and where something truly amazing happens that maybe is supported by some of the research.

(00:59):

So lemme put up on the screen now sort of our summer schedule, and I want to take you through just a couple of weeks of the summer camp and talk to you about, we did this last year, some of the surprises and some of the things that have really made a difference. So you can see on the Monday here, the second we have the Crux climbing center listed, you're saying, what in the world is that my child, my young adult's never going to climb? And they do and they're scared about it until they see a buddy doing it. And our son was the same way. He didn't want to climb. He didn't even understand why he would hold on to the wall at all. Took weeks. It actually took months. Months. Now he can climb a 55 foot wall by himself. He loves it. He doesn't require much motivation, he doesn't require treats.

(01:48):

But that idea that you put them in a setting out in the community and it's fun, it's different, it's exciting, and they're looking around and they're seeing other people like them that they know sort of climb that wall. Well, they want to do it too. It looks sort of fun. And then they let go of the wall and they don't fall. They're sort of floating an air with that belay rope and that harness around them. Oh, this is sort of cool. And they're looking down at everybody and they're smiling at 'em and they get to wave and they wave back. Oh, this is sort of fun. So you put your child in a new situation that you as a parent have a lot of trepidation about, and you will see some things that are just amazing happen. Now there is research and there is science that does support community settings and how important it is to provide that social aspect.

(02:40):

And even for folks with autism that are a bit awkward when it comes to neurotypical social interactions, if you put them in a situation where they're both neurotypical and neurodivergent folks in the same setting so they can see somehow how some of their divergent friends are acting and behaving, but they also can see some neurotypical folks are coming on over and wanting to help out belay them. It's a marvelous mix of different people, different philosophies, different communication styles, and everybody's there to help and make one another successful. So we've seen that happen. It's happened over and over again and it's super exciting. Now, on the next day, you can see on Wednesday the fourth, we're taking everybody to altitude activities, trampoline park basketball, dodge ball, climbing wall and lunch. Very different than climbing up a wall. You're bouncing up and down on trampolines, maybe playing some basketball, maybe playing some dodge ball.

(03:39):

So all kinds of different activities. But again, it's this idea, expose your adult child to things that they've never been exposed before, but you think there might enjoy or you're not even sure they're going to enjoy it and watch what happens. And again, it's that everybody's doing it together. Some people are maybe a little freaked out. They don't have to jump on the trampoline, they can go over and shoot baskets. But over the course of a few hours or half a day or a full day, everyone sort of gets used to it. It's a very upbeat, positive atmosphere and you see things come alive in your kiddos that you didn't even know was inside of them. They're just natural human tendencies that desire to have fun, that desire to achieve that desire to really try harder than maybe you've ever seen them try before where there's balancing on a trampoline, not falling over or falling over and just being silly and laughing about it.

(04:37):

Then we go back to the Clarks Climbing Center on the sixth, and then on the ninth, the Monday we're going to Boggy Creek Farms. So this is outside gardening, learning about farming a picnic outside. The whole idea of back to nature. So this idea that you're out with trees and sunshine and in Texas right now in Austin, Texas is pretty darn hot. So a lot of our activities are indoors, but they're physical activities and they're not isolated. We're not in a cloistered setting where it's only our group. We're out there at a crux climbing gym with lots of other folks or at a trampoline park like the adaptive altitude with lots of other kiddos or at Boggy Creek Farms where there are other people having picnics too. So this idea that we're not trying to sequester our people together by themselves, but we want them out there in the community.

(05:32):

And in some cases they may even have some jobs. They may be sweeping or mopping or raking or picking up trash. Our son's been able to secure a job at above minimum wage, doing some of those things that a crux climbing gym. Here he is nonverbal. He needs somebody with him from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed, he has to wear a diaper at night. He has seizures, he has pica behavior. I mean the list of problems he has goes on and on and on and on. Yet he's able to have a real job. And at the same time he has that real job. He's able to take breaks and have some rec therapy, have some fun, whether it's climbing or jumping on the trampolines or maybe going out in the park and having a picnic with the rest of his friends.

(06:12):

And so then we go back to the Crux Climbing Center and the next page we have healing with horses. So there's been a lot of research done about animals and our son never really connected with dogs, but horses a little different. Horses are big, and just petting a horse is calming and the horse sort of senses who's there. And this idea that you just meet the horse, you don't have to get on the horse to ride the horse. We're not thinking about doing that, at least not off the bat, but it's more just a different setting exposure to something that they've never necessarily been up close to and see the magic happen. Now, not everyone is necessarily going to do well in each of these environments, but the whole point is you don't know. And until you try it, you'll be surprised. And if you're not surprised, at least you gave it a shot.

(07:02):

And then we go to Uncle Buck's, fish bowling on Wednesday the 18th. This is the coolest bowling alley I have ever seen. It's like a big fish tank, all kinds of cool colors inside. They got these sharks up in the ceiling and lights everywhere and it's fun. It's different. It's not noisy necessarily, but it can be. So if your child or your adult is sound sensitive, you have 'em wear the headphones, right? Or put the headset over their ears, but they'll still have a great time and they get to do, again, do something that's physical but not too physical. Bowling. For a while, Michael had to have a ramp because he didn't understand where to throw the ball. And so you just give him a ramp and he just rolls the ball down the ramp and it just sort of goes down the alley and hits a couple of the pins.

(07:50):

But for the more physically active, they can really take that full swing with the arm. You can get a bit of a workout there, but again, it's that social environment. You're doing everything together. That's fun. Then on Monday the 23rd, we're going to Morgan's Wonderland. This is down in San Antonio, Texas. So it's a good probably hour and a half drive from where we are. But we've got a 15 person transit van. We take everybody in and it's outside. They have some inside things too, but they've got a train, a Ferris wheel, all kinds of activities, rides, water waterpark, picnic. Again, Morgan's Wonderland was specifically designed for folks that have special needs, that have intellectual development disabilities that maybe are autistic. And so it's a place that's sort of set up to provide the same theme park experience, a Six Flags or a Disneyland, but with accommodations for those that need maybe a little bit more help.

(08:50):

And it can't stand in a line very long. And so each day we're trying to do things that are different. Some days we go back to Crux Climbing Center because that's been a proven deal for us. Sometimes we go to the trampoline center or outdoor to a park or to a Morgan's Wonderland or to a horse, outdoor horse place where there are all kinds of animals, maybe not just even horses, but this idea that you provide an environment where there are a whole different set of experiences with not just your son or daughter, but with others with them, that they know that they get along well with and with staff that's trained to watch out for behaviors before there's a meltdown to step in and intervene when that's necessary. So everyone's got someone watching out for them, but they're not just stuck indoors sitting down all day or half a day, not getting any physical activity.

(09:49):

So this is what we've discovered, and this is where I think some of the science and some of the therapy really does prove to be correct, is that physical activity makes a huge difference. Endorphins get flowing. There's certain chemicals in the body that change when you're out there doing things and not just sitting on your rear end all day, social big deal. Even if they can't talk, this idea that they're just with other folks, they're out in the community doing things that are new and different. That new indifference is a big deal. Mentally stimulating, physically stimulating, they're learning things, they're adapting. They're not quite as scared doing something that they've never done before. It can be fun, it can be joyous. So the idea is that the end of our summer camp, not only have they had a great time, but they've learned a lot, maybe even if they don't know, they've learned a lot, they've formed some new friendships, they've been out in the community, and the community has seen them, and they've seen what's out there in the real world, and they're more excited about life.

(10:49):

They're more tailored or in tune with new things. They're not quite as stressed out. They're not quite as scared when they're put in a new situation because they've been in a lot of new situations for weeks now, and not maybe all of them have turned out great, but in general, it's been a fun, exciting time. So that's what we're going to try to do this summer for about a dozen folks. We hope you give it the same try. If you are associated with an organization like ours, our group is john thirteen.org or J thirteen.org. And we're doing this on Autism Labs because Autism Labs is all about sort of recording our successes and our failures and our learnings and technologies and other things that work well. Until next week, have a wonderful blessed time. See you.