Cindy Ziobrowski

Camp CARD NE is offering 8 weeks of summer camp in several community locales. We believe it is important for our campers to meet the people in the community and vice versa. It takes away the mystery about autism.
At camp, we teach social thinking skills directly in small group settings through a variety of methods- role playing, games, and modeling.
We offer plenty of time to 'practice' the learned skills in a safe supportive environment.
We understand the importance of peers and Camp CARD NE is committed to having peer mentors as part of the experience. Our peers come from the community and have undergone extensive training that then allows them to naturally support our campers. This also is part of our mission, to expose youth to the face of autism. Many peer mentors choose to pursue special education as their field of study in higher education because of this experience.
Camp CARD NE is a training ground for educators who would like to learn more about successful strategies when working with children on the spectrum. Summer course work is intertwined with real life camp experience.
Lastly, Camp CARD NE teaches the campers the importance of community and volunteerism. Each day time is devoted to 'giving back.' We find this to be one of the most valuable lessons we can instill. The term 'learned helplessness' is often applied to children diagnosed with autism. They are always on the receiving end of life and this part of the program shows them they are a vital member of society with unique skills to offer. For many of our campers, this is the first step to building self-esteem and self-worth, something no amount of money can buy!