By Erin Kayata
Most recreational camps are boisterous places with tight schedules and constant stimulation. Just ask Kim Ho: she’s spent the last 40 summers volunteering at camps that accommodate adults with and without disabilities.
But participants of AAC Family Camp in Vermont were greeted by lanterns emitting a serene red glow from the walls when they arrived on-site for their first day. Applause and cheering were exchanged for snaps or hand waves, and noise-canceling headphones were available for those with sound sensitivities.
“Walking into the room, I could feel the calm,” Oanh Bui, who participated in the camp with her daughter, told Northeastern Global News. “No one tried to hurry (my daughter). That alone felt different.”
Ho, an assistant clinical professor of communication sciences and disorders at Northeastern University, founded AAC Family Camp — Radical Inclusion to cater to the needs of autistic users of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and their families. The camp’s inaugural session was held from March 9 to March 13 at Zeno Mountain Farm, a campsite in Lincoln, Vermont.
