Anne Carlsen Center, Elks Camp Grassick Set for TechnoCamp 2009

ACC Assistive Technology Director Mark Coppin mounts a digital camera onto a mechanical arm that attaches to Alex’s wheelchair during the 2008 TechnoCamp. Campers took a variety of digital photos as part of an arts and crafts project, and then learned to create digital scrapbooks and collages.

As weather transitions from winter’s bluster to spring’s bloom, thoughts of summer awaken.

For many teens, attending summer camp helps shape the framework of their lives for years to come. Experiences such as arts and crafts, swimming in a lake, or taking a hay ride in the evening create meaningful and lasting memories. Teens with disabilities often miss out on these experiences and may not be able to fully participate in, and embrace, this highlight of summer.

The Anne Carlsen Center is making sure students attending its Jamestown Campus and teens with disabilities throughout North Dakota are not denied this opportunity.

Each year Elks Camp Grassick, located five miles south of Dawson, N.D., becomes the week-long home for the annual ACC TechnoCamp. Positioned on the southern shore of Lake Isabel, campers have access to traditional camp activities, the newest technologies, the friendliest and most knowledgeable staffs, and many chances to meet new life-long friends.

This year’s camp is scheduled to run from June 28 through July 3. Registration for the camp closes after May 1.

Each year camp and Center staffs design activities that incorporate adapted equipment or software. Regardless of ability, a camper will get the opportunity to join in and make each day memorable.

“These kids get to have a camp experience that many may never have had the chance to have,” said ACC Assistive Technology Director Mark Coppin. “That is things like going on a hay ride, something that may not have been accessible for a child in a wheelchair. For many of the kids, it will be the first time they have gone out on a pontoon, spent time by a campfire at night, or gone swimming in a lake. There are a lot of first-time opportunities.”

Some of these first-time opportunities include utilizing technology to create projects. Camp cabins are equipped with computers that open a number of artistic avenues: from uploading digital pictures taken throughout the camp to allowing campers to create a daily podcast about their camp experiences.

Steven, a camper at Elks Camp Grassick during 2008, shapes a heated record into a bowl as part of an arts and crafts project with Kris Nitschke, a licensed occupational therapist assistant with the Anne Carlsen Center.

Original art pieces will be made through traditional means (with paint or glue applied through adapted means such as switches) and some software applications will be utilized (for example, creating an original song with GarageBand software).

“When we get to camp, we empower the kids to take control,” said Coppin. “We make adaptations so the campers can do all activities.”

Those interested in having a student age 13 and older attend TechnoCamp, can find a printable application online at www.annecenter.org. For more information please call Theresa Hanson at 1-800-568-5175 (ext. 169) or e-mail her at theresa.hanson@annecenter.org. Early registration is encouraged because the number of campers is limited.

The Anne Carlsen Center offers a rich tradition of empowering individuals with disabilities and their families. Our experienced staff provides compassion, training, services and supports in homes and communities across North Dakota. On our Jamestown Campus, we meet the educational, residential and therapeutic needs of children and young adults with autism, behavior disorders, medical fragility, and other developmental disabilities.