Therapeutic Camps as Respite Care Providers: Benefits for Families of Children with Disabilities

This study examines the utilization of a therapeutic summer camp for children\nwith disabilities as a respite care provider for parents of camp participants. Interviews\nwere conducted with nine parents, from seven different families of recent camp\nparticipants at Camp LIFE, a camp for children with disabilities located in Burton, TX.\nThe interviews were qualitative in nature, and utilized Atlas.ti research software to guide\nthe data analysis process.\nThe findings centered on five areas: the daily life of a family with a disabled\nchild, the respite needs of these families, the value of respite care in general, the value of\nrespite as provided by Camp LIFE in particular (both while the child attended camp, as\nwell as after the child returned home), the qualities of Camp LIFE that contributed to\nrespite, and suggestions from parents for improvement of service provision. These\nfindings suggest that, as has been found in previous research, raising a child with a\ndisability is often difficult; however, this study found that none of the parents would opt\nto alter their situation, given the opportunity. It was also reported by parents that respite\ncare is often hard to obtain (for a variety of reasons), but that it is a much-needed and desired service. In terms of Camp LIFE, the interviews showed that the parents did see\nthe camp as a source of respite care, and that each family "did something" with the time\ntheir child was at camp in such a way as to maximize these respite benefits.\nThis study is in agreement with an argument raised by previous research; that\novernight therapeutic camps are a much-valued source of rest for many parents, and that\nwithout such respite, parents would report much higher levels of stress related to the care\nof a disabled child. Further research should be conducted which further examines the\nspecific processes that allow parents to feel comfortable with obtaining respite from\ntherapeutic camps, as well as research into ways to provide financial support and\nassistance to further the ability of these camps to provide such services.