Creating Safe Spaces for Children with Autism with Iris Pendleton

In this episode of Autism Explained, host Dacia Williams sits down with Iris Pendleton, founder and owner of Camp Summer Garden, for a heartfelt conversation about autism, inclusion, summer camp, after-school support, and creating spaces where neurodivergent children can feel safe, understood, and free to be themselves.

Iris shares the story behind Camp Summer Garden, which she founded in 2019 after watching her sister struggle to find the right programs for her niece, who has autism. With a doctoral background in early childhood autism, Iris saw the need for a program that could offer more than supervision. She wanted to build a place where children with autism and other neurodivergent needs could receive intentional support, build friendships, enjoy meaningful activities, and grow socially in an environment designed with them in mind.

The conversation explores what makes Camp Summer Garden unique, including its small group sizes, low staff-to-child ratios, and intentional hiring practices. Iris explains why the program keeps groups limited, with approximately 15 children in the after-school program and around 25 in the summer camp, so each child can receive the attention and support they deserve. The camp also prioritizes staff who not only have training and education in autism, but also a genuine heart for working with children.

Dacia and Iris also discuss the impact the camp has on families. Parents often report growth in their children’s social skills, confidence, and ability to make lasting friendships. Iris shares sweet and memorable moments from the program, including a child’s excitement over the Artemis space mission and a pretend “five-star” meal created in the camp kitchen. These stories show how powerful play, imagination, structure, and belonging can be for children who may not always feel fully seen in traditional settings.

At its heart, this episode is about the importance of creating spaces where autistic and neurodivergent children are not just accommodated, but welcomed. Camp Summer Garden is built around inclusion, connection, patience, and the belief that every child deserves a place to learn, play, socialize, and thrive.

Learn more about Camp Summer Garden at campsummergarden.org, on Instagram at @CampSummerGarden_TLH, or on Facebook at Camp Summer Garden.

To learn more about the Infinite Spectrum Foundation, visit infinitespectrumfoundation.org. Spectrum Support Groups are held every second Thursday from 6:30 to 7:30, with virtual and in-person options available at infinitespectrumfoundation.org/events.

Transcript

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So I have a niece who is now 12 years old and she has autism. Years ago, I saw the struggle that my sister had to find programs that met her needs and that worked with her well. I decided to start a program. So I call the program God Inspired because it didn't exactly start out where I just wanted to create a program. I was kind of complaining about the fact that there were a lack, there was a lack of programs available. And so sometimes when you start complaining, you are the solution. I was finishing up my doctoral degree in early childhood autism and got the idea, and that was in 2019, and here we are. Families often talk about how they see their children's social skills growing and the fact that they actually make friends in the program. And some of our children, they sometimes don't have a lot of friends, but coming into our program, they get to meet new friends. Some of the things they really appreciate, they love the staff. So I believe any good team has to have the right people on it. Some children will actually hide from their parents when it's time to go home. Yes, they hide from their parents. And it's kind of funny because that means they're having so much fun that they don't want to leave. My name is Jamine Delves. I am the founder of the organization. And what Infinite Spectrum is, is it's an organization that focuses heavily on the creative side, specifically podcasts, where we teach individuals on the spectrum about podcast production, all the way from pre-production to production to distribution, marketing, and design. That's kind of what we do because we are now living in the world, an age of podcasting. And this is a great way for individuals to get their voice out. What better way to teach podcasts and then not have one as well? We have a podcast called Autism Explain. And Autism Explain is designed for a place for voices, families, uh expertise, things of that nature to come out, speak about their life experiences and how they navigate through life so that you can help others in that same way while at the same time having subject matter experts on the podcast that will also be a resource to individuals with uh with two individuals with um children on the spectrum or family members on the spectrum as a resource available to you. And that podcast is now streaming on all major platforms. You can also get this information from our website at infinite spectrumfoundation.org. On top of our program skills, we also have our spectrum support that we host every second Thursday from 6 30 to 7 30. These formats come in both virtual and in-person, where we have interactive skills for individuals who are neurodivergent, who are parents, who are caregivers, who are college students, who are families or friends, or just individuals who want to learn more about the autism spectrums. Feel free to come out to any of our spectrum support groups and you can find out where we're hosting them at infant spectrum foundation.org slash events. Hi everyone, my name is Dacia Williams, and I'm the host for Autism Explain today. With me I have Iris Pendleton, owner and founder of Camp Summer Garden. Yes. Yes. Can you tell us a little bit about that program? Sure, Camp Summer Garden is an inclusive after school and summer camp for children with autism. It is built for and especially for children with autism. However, I always tell people we can serve any child. Some unique features of our program are our low staff to child ratios. We have generally one adult for every three to five children, and we keep a very small group. For instance, our after-school program will have 15 children and the summer camp around 25. So we're very small with a lot of support in our program. Nice. What led you to work with individuals who are neurodiversion? Okay, so I have a niece who is now 12 years old and she has autism. And years ago, I saw the struggle that my sister had to find programs that met her needs and that worked with her well. And so I decided to start a program. And in a lot of ways, I call the program God-inspired because it didn't exactly start out where I just wanted to create a program because I needed one for my needs. I was kind of complaining about the fact that there were a lack, there was a lack of programs available. And so sometimes when you start complaining, you are the solution to that complaining. I was finishing up my doctoral degree in early childhood autism and got the idea, and that was in 2019, and here we are. Oh, nice. What are some things that parents say about your program that keeps in coming back? So some of the things they really appreciate, they love the staff. So I believe any good team has to have the right people on it. And so we're very intentional about hiring people who have specific training, specific education, and who also just have a heart for working with the children with autism. And so our staff definitely keeps people coming back. The small group sizes and staff-to-child ratios that I told you about. And then the fun activities. So one of our things that we find to be fun is that some children will actually hide from their parents when it's time to go home. Yes, they hide from their parents. And it's kind of funny because that means they're having so much fun that they don't want to leave. And families often talk about how they see their children's social skills growing and the fact that they actually make friends in the program. And some of our children, they sometimes don't have a lot of friends, but coming into our program, they get to meet new friends. Nice. Our kids are allowed to re-enroll into that program to reconnect with the friendships that they established better before. So we have an active Facebook page. We also keep an email list of all of our families. And usually I don't have to ask them to come back. Um, like I have some children who have been with us ever since our first year that we did our in-person summer camp, and their families, they ask me before registration opens, when do we need to, when do we need to sign up? And so um which is always a good thing. Yeah. Can you tell the most outrageous story that has occurred? So I started out recently we, you know, we had the space capsule that landed and it was getting ready. Or actually, when they went on the mission for the Artemis, I had a child in the program who got off the van that day to come into after school. And he couldn't really give us a complete sentence, but he started telling us, hey, there's a spaceship going up, there's a shuttle. We need to watch. And so we turned on the countdown that day, and I didn't even realize it was happening. But because he told us, we were all watching and we watched it together. And then that evening, um, when it finally took off, his mom checked in and said, Hey, he asked if you were watching it. And then a few days ago, when it returned back to Earth, same thing. His mom checked in because he wanted to make sure that I was keeping up with this. Um and so there's there's just always things that the kids do. Like I had a cute moment a few days ago in the kitchen area. One of the little girls, she said, Hey, sit down. I'm gonna cook you some steak and some lobster and all of this. And I said, How much does it cost? Oh, it's a dollar. And I'm like, restaurants are really not treating me well because I've never had that kind of meal for a dollar. Five-star meal for a dollar. And I love it here. And um I think there are other things that happen, like when the kids are looking forward to seeing us, like when I go by the after school and they say, Hey, are you gonna you're gonna be here to play with me today? Or they come and give me a hug, or um, that kind of thing. So love that. Yeah. Can you tell the audience where we can find you and how we can keep up with Camp Summer Garden? Yeah, so we are online. We have a website, campsummergarden.org, and we also have an Instagram, which is Camp SummerGarden TLH, or CampsummerGarden underscore T L H. And then we have a Facebook page, Camp Summer Garden. Iris, thank you again for coming on the show. And thank you guys for tuning in. My name is Dacia Wales, and this is Autism Explained the Way We See It.