Camp Akeela

★★★★★Kim Taylor

My husband and I both work full time and we wanted our daughter with ASD to experience sleep away camp.When she was 8, we sent her to a mainstream sleep away camp. She was bullied from day one, and the teenage (and adult) counselors did nothing to help her. She was left out of most of the activities because she didn't know how to do them and was just ignored instead of being taught and encouraged. I found Akeela through an Internet search, and I say with no hesitation that it is one of the best things that has ever happened to our family. Debbie and Eric are amazing, and they've been so supportive and helpful since day 1. They are great with communication and keeping campers and families engaged with each other all year round. I want to stress there are no "therapies" done at camp, it is a place where quirky kids can experience what it's like to be at camp , but are supported in every aspect. The counselors are college students that mostly study in the field. Our daughter is supported, encouraged, and has direct attention from her counselors.. Being a child with ASD can be a very lonely experience. My daughter has had such an improvement in self esteem, confidence, positivity, and feeling so included and accepted . Words do not suffice to describe Akeela's magic. I highly recommend this camp.

★★★★★Rebecca Crowe

Our son had a really positive experience as a camper at Akeela. It was his first sleep away camp and he met wonderful kids, appreciated the counselors, and still describes the positive environment for trying new things and learning new skills. We were so grateful for Debbie and Eric's thoughtful, knowledgeable, and caring approach as we were preparing for the summer.

★★★★★Jed Goldstein

Our daughter, who has autism, had such a wonderful and transformative experience in her first session at Akeela (and first time away from home after a long pandemic), that we chose to send her for the second session as well. I can't say enough about this wonderful camp. Debbie and Eric are highly experienced and wonderful and what they do -- and provide a supportive and fun environment for kids like ours to grow -- and have an incredible time, experiencing the wonders of camp without some of the stress that might be present in a typical mainstream camp. Her counselors were absolutely amazing, and she cannot wait to go to back to camp. Perhaps the best thing I can say -- is that our daughter was able to make real friendships for the first time -- this school year, which we believe was a direct result of her experience at Akeela. If you have a child that may be a fit for Akeela, I can't recommend the camp highly enough. I wish all kids (like ours) could have this experience.

★★★★★Kessely Hong

After a long year of very little social interaction, exacerbated by Covid, Camp Akeela helped restore our son's confidence and joy in engaging with peers. The directors and staff at Akeela are extremely dedicated and thoughtful, and pay close attention to the needs of each child. They helped our son grow in wonderful ways, inspiring him to help with activities, make friends, try new things, and not be as picky. The head counselors are great about communicating with parents. While we had only planned to send our son for one session this past summer, during our phone call in the middle of the first session he begged to stay for a second session, and we were thrilled Debbie and Eric were accommodating enough to make space for him. We are so grateful our son was able to be part of this wonderful community and have such a positive experience.

★★★★★Beth Naditch

For us, Camp Akeela was very literally life changing. After googling "quirky kids camp," we attended the first family camp, to check out whether this might be a good fit for our son, who was then in 5th grade and struggling. We found a warm, accepting, and incredibly intentional place where every child was valued. The next year, our son went off for his first year of "regular camp," and it was the highlight of his year until he aged out. He made lasting friends, tried out new activities, matured beautifully, and most importantly, felt cherished by the Akeela community. We received weekly calls from his head counselor letting us know how he was doing. We arranged our family life around family camp until we aged out, and the community of friends we made there are amongst our dearest and closest friends. We all get the unique challenges, and have had the opportunity to support each other through joys, sorrows, and just everyday life. We are still grateful daily to Debbie and Eric for having this idea and making it happen!