FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington announced Tuesday it is receiving a grant from the Autism Society of Maine to fund scholarships for Autism Summer Camp Counselors.
Scholarships of $500 each will help undergraduate students interested in enrolling in UMF’s four-credit advanced psychology summer course and participating as camp counselors in its annual program, according to a news release from the college.
The five-week course is a joint effort with the Autism Society of Maine and runs from July 20 to Aug. 20, providing students with a week of training by professionals in the field before the camp experience. After the training, students will be paired one-on-one with an adolescent student for the first two weeks, then two weeks with a school-age child.
The camp started in 2002 and has served more than 200 children with autism from age 5 to 15. The camp is held at St. Joseph’s Parish Hall in Farmington and includes traditional camp activities such as swimming, arts and crafts and field trips.
The camp provides a setting where the children can relax and have fun while also providing professional supervision and an atmosphere that matches the children’s needs.
“This is my fourth year being involved with the Autism Summer Camp program, and I keep coming back because it’s such a worthwhile experience,” Joel King, a UMF psychology professor, said in a news release. “It’s the best of both worlds for both campers and students. Children with autism lead very structured lives in order to develop important skills. The summer camp allows them to just relax, make friends and have fun. And the students working as counselors love working with the kids and grow in confidence and skills before my eyes.”
Grant money was provided to the Autism Society of Maine by the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism in appreciation for the work it does to help people with autism and their families. According to its website, the foundation expects to distribute more than $400,000 to nonprofit organizations in the Northeast, Florida and Canada.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.