Camp Speers Eljabar YMCA/YAI Mainsteaming at Camp Program

The Mainstreaming-At-Camp (MAC) Program , offered through YAI/National Institute for people with Disabilities’ Clinical and Family Services Department provides children and young adults with developmental and learning disabilities a fantastic summer experience in traditional camp settings.
YAI’s partnerships with two of the leading YMCA summer camps in the northeast enable us to provide a fun and unique summer camp experience in an *inclusive*, residential setting. Rather than segregate individuals with disabilities from their typically developing peers, MAC offers a camping experience within traditional summer camps to foster YAI/NIPD’s goals of inclusion and independence. In the course of our partnership, the program also promotes acceptance of diversity within the entire camp community by providing typically developing campers with a new awareness and acceptance of people with disabilities. MAC is also a valuable resource for families and caregivers in need of respite. See website for more details.