Summer camp

[Guest guest]

Gail in N'Awlins,

Hobble over here and I'll help you scratch under the cast!

I know what you mean about feeling sad for our kids when things dont work

out like we expect. Adi (13) chose to take mini-trips to various places

instead of going to Israel to be with her grandparents as she has every

summer. The first 2 weeks she was with kids in NJ and had no ocd problems,

she said. Since last week she has been in Oregon. Now she writes that the is

doubting herself and cant get the thoughts out of her head - but wont

discuss it with me. We exchange emails daily, so I always slip in some ideas

for self-help, which works with her. She'll be home this week - and next

week she's going to Nova Scotia! I guess I'll stress that life is full of

highs and lows. She expected to have a good time with her aunt and uncle in

oregon, but I guess that her time is less occupied, leaving her too much

time to think.

I say, good for for going away! She is terrific kid, she tried and

I bet if you ask her in a few days on a scale of 1-10, how much fun was the

camp experience she'll answer higher rather than lower. If things were very

hard she would have come home early or they would have called you.

Oh, and btw - all kids write home either asking you to send food,

telling you they hate camp, or saying this is the best summer they have ever

had and can they stay longer! A lot of the time the counsellors tell them to

write and sometimes even dictate the letters! ( I worked in a summer camp as

a kid and an adult!)

Chin up, mom! You'll be fine and so will she!

take care, wendy in canada!!

[Guest guest]

Gail in N'Awlins,

I forgot to add that Ziv has agreed to try another week at camp.

Unfortunatly the other camp is full, but we found another one that sounds

good to her. We have been working on exposing her to new situations and I

was proud of her decision to try. ( it also helps that the camp has swimming

and its sooooo hot and humid here!)

later, wendy in canada

[Guest guest]

HI Gail:

This is a good place to feel sad. Probably all of us can relate to what

you are saying only too well. Looking back at before really hurts, mostly

I find it helps to stay in the here and now.

3 happy letters out of 7 is almost batting 50%. Not bad at all for a young

girl battling OCD on her own away from home. I wonder how many happy

letters non-OCD parents got? I remember friends telling me they wrote home

from camp on toilet paper to their parents to get the message across how

awful they were feeling! I don't think any of them had OCD.

There is no reason to give up hope that one day it will be possible to get

rid of the OCD. Another parent wrote very well about this recently on the

list. Keeping this hope alive is important to keeping our kids motivated.

What I tell myself is that even if this is not possible in Steve's

lifetime, he has learned how to cope and he is becoming a very strong

person through battling with OCD. His success has been very good for his

self esteem, I regularly remind him that 25% of adults with OCD cannot

bring themselves to do what he has done, do CBT. He believes now that he

can have a normal life even though he lives with OCD every minute of every

day.

Great news about the cast coming off so soon! There will be no holding you

back then. Take care, aloha, Kathy (Ha)

kathyh@...

At 11:07 PM 8/1/99 EDT, you wrote:

>From: GPesses@...

>

> On 's insistence, we sent her to " sleep-away " camp about 3 hours

>away from home. She comes home this Friday. It does not seem as if it

>worked out very well. We've gotten only 3 happy letters our of seven. We

>had educated the counselors, staff et al about OCD and they seem to be

trying

>to help her. But so many subtle OCD traits seem to booby trap - that

>hypersensitity and need to finish have frustrated her and sometimes others.

>I am so sad for her as she had such high expectations for herself.

> I guess I bought into her dreams, as I still harbor the hope that one

day

>the OCD will disappear and my little girl will be carefree and able to just

>concern herself with more mundane things. I want her to be able to acheive

>everything she wants and hopes and I'm scared that the OCD will keep her

from

>developing her talents and reaching her dreams.

> I keep looking back on last year at this time, when I first started to

>realize that something was very wrong. Clearly, she, and our whole family,

>are doing much better one year later. But I still feel sad. Sometimes I

>feel that it is so unfair that such a little girl has to tame such a big

>monster!

> I apologize for my indulgence in feeling sorry for myself, but I know

>that you all understand my feelings. Thanks for listening.

>Gail in N'Awlins (with only 1 week left in the cast on my foot!)

>

>---------------------------

[Guest guest]

Hi Gail,

Glad you're getting closer to full " foot " recovery. I too really related to

what you said about your hopes and dreams for your daughter. I was feeling

pretty good after Kelsey beat OCD, not realizing that this social phobia

would be harder!

However, I hope when comes home you help her focus on her

accomplishment (toughing it out at camp, what she learned about how she can

cope without you if she really needs to) and not so much on what went wrong

there. I think it's so important for us as parents of anxious kids to keep

validating their willingness to take risks! She quite obviously has a lot

of courage, Gail...and that's something to be proud of

Take care,

in San Diego

[Guest guest]

Gail,

I understand your feelings only too well! So sorry

that things didn't go as well as you needed them to.

I am thinking that you received 3 positive letters...

so there must have been a few good points to camp.

I am so proud of her for trying.... I know this took

a lot of courage for both of you.

I am so glad that you will soon get your cast off! I know

you are sooo ready.

Take care and let us know how things go when gets

home.

mary from La.

GPesses@... wrote:

> From: GPesses@...

>

> On 's insistence, we sent her to " sleep-away " camp about 3 hours

> away from home. She comes home this Friday. It does not seem as if it

> worked out very well. We've gotten only 3 happy letters our of seven. We

> had educated the counselors, staff et al about OCD and they seem to be trying

> to help her. But so many subtle OCD traits seem to booby trap - that

> hypersensitity and need to finish have frustrated her and sometimes others.

> I am so sad for her as she had such high expectations for herself.

> I guess I bought into her dreams, as I still harbor the hope that one day

> the OCD will disappear and my little girl will be carefree and able to just

> concern herself with more mundane things. I want her to be able to acheive

> everything she wants and hopes and I'm scared that the OCD will keep her from

> developing her talents and reaching her dreams.

> I keep looking back on last year at this time, when I first started to

> realize that something was very wrong. Clearly, she, and our whole family,

> are doing much better one year later. But I still feel sad. Sometimes I

> feel that it is so unfair that such a little girl has to tame such a big

> monster!

> I apologize for my indulgence in feeling sorry for myself, but I know

> that you all understand my feelings. Thanks for listening.

> Gail in N'Awlins (with only 1 week left in the cast on my foot!)

>

> ---------------------------

[Guest guest]

Jacqui:

GREAT news about the camp and your son liking it......hope it

continues.....now, what are you going to do when he doesn't want to come

home???? heheh...

[Guest guest]

Thanks for all the encouraging posts regarding and camp.

DH spoke to the supervisor this morning and apparently is fine and

happy as long as they're engaged in an activity.. As soon as he gets the sad

face going, they whisk him off to the pool or horseback riding or whatever

and he forgets about being sad. I am heartily relieved. Thank you G-D!

An amazing realization dawned on me this evening, 's third night away

from home: I went to work this morning (I teach part time at the local

community college and since we're in summer session, I am teaching only two

mornings a week four hours at a time), came home took my younger son, ,

swimming for two hours at a neighbor's pool, read my trashy novel (based on

instructions from Jill, who said I MUST relax and read pulp fiction!) while

Josh swam, came home, made phone calls, caught up on correspondence, did some

laundry, took with me to the grocery store to shop for dinner, cooked,

cleaned up, poured myself a glass of wine, read some more, welcomed DH home

from work -- all without being frazzled or harried or rushed or chaotic ....

Did I accomplish all this in a pleasant manner because is at camp?!

It must be . Yet I do miss him, though not in a heart-rending way. I feel

his absence because aside from about four not great respite weekends, he has

always been right there underfoot making ordinary chores three times as hard.

I hope I don't sound mean. I adore , but I'm so glad you all

encouraged me to leave him at camp. I'll go and get him on Sunday and we'll

both be ready for him to be home!

Boy - is this how other people live? Now I'm really going to be pissed off

when acquaintances complain for no real reason!!! Life is not that hard

lived this way!!!

What a bittersweet realization.

Love to you all,

Jacqui

Mom of MAtthew (10, DS, ASD, kid at camp and , 7)

[Guest guest]

I don't know where you are located, but my Alyssa went to Down Home Ranch in

Elgin Texas last year. They have camp for kids and adults. Here's the link for

more information: http://www.downhomeranch.org/

Sue & Alyssa-MI

[Guest guest]

We live in New Jersey - a bit far for this one but I have heard and read about

it and it sounds fabulous!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Summer camp

I don't know where you are located, but my Alyssa went to Down Home Ranch in

Elgin Texas last year. They have camp for kids and adults. Here's the link for

more information: http://www.downhomeranch.org/

Sue & Alyssa-MI

[Guest guest]

As a kid I went to MDA camp and Easter Seal camp so I don't have any experience

with " regular " camp. My assumption is that you and your daughter should go over

the activities with the people in charge to be sure she can be part of things

that will be fun and not demoralizing. Aside from that, your help at lunch is

probably enough.

*shrugs* I'm a big fan of giving kids the tools, support and then letting them

figure it out. You know, like we all have to do regardless of what challenges we

have. Or don't have.

Good luck,

S

>

> Hi, Everyone,

> For those who don't know me. My name is Ping. My 12-year-old daughter has SMA

II/III.

>  

> Can anyone share their experience with regular summer camps?

>  

> Wondering if I should hire an aid for her. I will take care the toileting

during lunch. 

>  

> Ping

>

>