While waiting in line
to rappel for the first
time, Kelsey Charlton
said she wasn’t afraid of backing
down the 25-foot cliff.
But as the autistic 15-year-old
inched toward the edge, fear almost
got the best of her.
Urged to put on her game face
by counselors and cheered on by
her campmates, Charlton scooted
off the edge and down to the
ground below.
“I think her bravery is inspiring
— to see her be able to work
through her fear,” said Megan
Bowles, an inclusion buddy at
Camp Fire USA’s Camp Waluhili.
For the second-straight year,
Camp Fire Green Country has
partnered with the National Inclusion
Program to offer Let’s All Play, an initiative to allow children with disabilities to
have the same experiences as
children without disabilities.
“This initiative relates directly
to Camp Fire’s core
value of inclusiveness,” said
Amanda Murphy, the community
relations director.
“We believe all children deserve
opportunities to enjoy
nature and have that iconic
summer camp experience.”
The partnership provides
additional personnel and
training for all resident camp
staff members on how to engage
and support children
who otherwise would have
had limited participation because
of health or behavioral
challenges.
This includes the “inclusion
buddies,” who are specially
trained counselors.
Murphy said the reason the
program is so effective is that
it’s not a camp for kids with
disabilities.
“It’s full infusion, of integration
of them with the other kids in cabins, and they
get that summer camp experience,”
she said.
“Other kids in Kelsey’s cabin
have all become friends,
and they’re there cheering
her on.”
Four kids with varying degrees
of autism are attending
the weeklong camp this week,
said Susan Bencke, camp and
outdoors coordinator.
She added that inclusion is
important because it’s a part
of life.
“We don’t take adults with
autism and put them in a
room and say, ‘Now live,’ ” she
said.
“They’re included in the
rest of the community. So
everyone in the community
needs to learn how to better
serve each other and better
encourage each other when
we face difficult challenges.”
By the end of the summer,
the camp will have had about
30 kids with autism and other
disorders as campers.
This is Charlton’s second
year to participate in the
summer camp.
Last year, she noticed other
campers rappelling while
she was kayaking on the lake
below and promised herself
that she would try it this year.
After making good on that
promise, she exclaimed:
“That made me happy. Now
I’m going to take a big drink
of water.”
Mike Averill 918-581-8489
mike.averill@tulsaworld.com
Local
The body was discovered in a vacant lot in the 4900 block of North Peoria Avenue, police said.
For more than a generation, this rural community has been haunted by a mystery: What happened to a group of teens who disappeared in the early 1970s after heading to a high school football game?
