{"id":7297,"date":"2019-06-13T10:28:07","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T14:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?p=7297"},"modified":"2023-02-15T10:48:41","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T15:48:41","slug":"camp-rad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/2019\/06\/13\/camp-rad\/","title":{"rendered":"Breakthroughs Every Day &#8211; Camp RAD Provides Pivotal Experiences for Children with Disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image161-323x600.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"323\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image161-323x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7298\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?attachment_id=7298\" class=\"wp-image-7298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image161-323x600.jpg 323w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image161-54x100.jpg 54w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image161-315x585.jpg 315w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image161.jpg 565w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 323px) 100vw, 323px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image162.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"445\" height=\"466\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image162.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7299\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?attachment_id=7299\" class=\"wp-image-7299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image162.jpg 445w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image162-95x100.jpg 95w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image162-315x330.jpg 315w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 445px) 100vw, 445px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image163-550x360.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"550\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image163-550x360.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7300\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?attachment_id=7300\" class=\"wp-image-7300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image163-550x360.jpg 550w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image163-100x65.jpg 100w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image163-315x206.jpg 315w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image163.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ascending a rock wall for\nthe first time when your young life\nhas been spent in a wheelchair. Cutting up fruit or eating spinach when you previously couldn\u2019t due to food aversions caused by major\nsensory issues. Playing basketball, swimming, or simply meeting\nnew people when you\u2019ve never done anything like that before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are just a few of\nthe individual activities and goals\nset for each of the campers\nattending Camp RAD, or Recreation for Adolescents with Disabilities.\nThe program is in its seventh year\nand serves youth and adults,\nages 10-22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gavin Colquitt, Ed.D., adapted physical education professor at Georgia Southern in the Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology, founded the camp in 2012 with professor of recreation and tourism management Brent Wolfe, Ph.D. He and Katy Gregg, Ph.D., child and family development professor in the School of Human Ecology, manage the camp with the assistance of paid and volunteer staff and students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"video-container-full\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-R054lxOrKY\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter whitelink\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background no-border-radius\" href=\"https:\/\/securelb.imodules.com\/s\/1544\/bp\/interior.aspx?sid=1544&amp;gid=1&amp;pgid=463&amp;cid=1157&amp;dids=932&amp;bledit=1&amp;sort=1&amp;appealcode=FY20UNSOLOLCP  \" style=\"background-color:#041e42\">Give to Camp RAD<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Few Services for Kids with Disabilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was doing a study comparing the access to community-based services among kids with disabilities between Bulloch County and another urban county in Georgia,\u201d said Colquitt. \u201cIt was very clear that there were very few services for kids with disabilities here. So I decided to start a camp for those kids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beginning with a shoestring budget and staffed with volunteers, the camp has come a long way since its inception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt our first camp, we\nonly had about five to seven campers.\nWe had a room at the Parks and Recreation Department, and I bought some supplies\nand snacks,\u201d said Colquitt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now the\ncamp hosts 25 campers at the Recreation Activity Center on Georgia Southern\u2019s\nStatesboro Campus, and branched out\nthis summer to Effingham County with another 25\ncampers hosted at the Parks and Recreation Department in\nRincon, Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Camp RAD has a very individualized curriculum. In\npreparation, Colquitt and his team spend 30 to 40 hours on the plan for each\ncamper, developing a comprehensive model that tailors each individual activity\nfor each child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe pull all of their latest speech, physical, occupational therapy goals, and if they have any behavioral health, mental health goals, we pull those,\u201d said Colquitt. \u201cWe get permission from the parents to access their child\u2019s education plan from the school district. Then we pull all that together to create individualized goals for each child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image164.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"539\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image164.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7301\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?attachment_id=7301\" class=\"wp-image-7301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image164.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image164-93x100.jpg 93w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image164-315x340.jpg 315w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image165.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"596\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image165.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7302\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?attachment_id=7302\" class=\"wp-image-7302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image165.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image165-84x100.jpg 84w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image165-315x375.jpg 315w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image166-450x600.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image166-450x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7303\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?attachment_id=7303\" class=\"wp-image-7303\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image166-450x600.jpg 450w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image166-75x100.jpg 75w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image166-315x420.jpg 315w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/image166.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Life-changing Experiences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Paula Palmer is mother to Jake, a camper that has participated every year since the camp&#8217;s founding. Jake\u2019s deficits include autism and muscle atrophy. She\u2019s seen firsthand the positive effects the camp has had on her son.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJake loves the camp so much. He has changed and grown every year that he has gone,\u201d said Palmer. \u201cNow he makes friends easily. He never could do that before. He&nbsp;&nbsp; has food aversions due to sensory issues,&nbsp;&nbsp; and\nlast summer he actually ate raw\nspinach and strawberries for the first time. That doesn\u2019t sound like much, but\nfor him it\u2019s a huge step forward.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taylor Forney is a three-year veteran working at the camp. She graduated from Georgia Southern in 2018 with a degree in child and family development. Forney was last year\u2019s camp coordinator and is the director of the Effingham County camp. She sees progress every day with the campers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo our campers are having fun, but&nbsp; they&#8217;re also learning how to interact with peers and how\nto be a part of a community,\u201d said\nForney. \u201cIt makes me happy to see they&#8217;re\nhaving a good time and feeling accepted\nin a community that normally they\u2019re excluded\nfrom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a rewarding experience for everyone involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe student volunteers just rave about how awesome camp is. And you know they&#8217;re so glad that they did it,\u201d said Forney. \u201cIt is such a life-changing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><em>\u2013 Liz Walker<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ascending a rock wall for the first time when your young life has been spent in a wheelchair. Cutting up fruit or eating spinach when you previously couldn\u2019t due to food aversions caused by major sensory issues. Playing basketball, swimming, or simply meeting new people when you\u2019ve never done anything like that before. These are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":7302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-7297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-spring-2019"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}