Signs of Fun Camp

★★★★★Noberto Garcia

A lot of love goes into planning this camp! I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer as a camp counselor. My favorite part to all of this was the emphasis on fun! Seriously, that is the number one priority! There are many cool experiences and I think being around their fellow Deaf peers made them more comfortable. I especially loved seeing children forming friendships that I hope last for many years. This is an amazing camp where ASL is the dominant language. I really look forward to coming back next year. P.S. If you’re interested in volunteering please contact the camp!!

★★★★★Alicia Rodriguez

Signs of Fun Camp in Fredericksburg was an incredible experience for our family this summer. It honestly blew our expectations out of the water! It’s the only camp for deaf and hard of hearing kids that includes their hearing siblings, which I think is so important. We have four children, the youngest of whom has a hearing loss. Seeing him surrounded by other kids who wear devices and use ASL was heart warming. And, at the same time, our other children practiced their signing skills and bonded with other siblings going through the same journey. While the campers were busy doing fun activities such as swimming, fishing, zip-lining, and more, the parents were able to take ASL classes and share resources. The ASL instructors were deaf and made us all feel so comfortable and confident. Every camp counselor there had a huge heart and worked so well with young children! They were patient, kind and made everything so fun for the campers! There honestly wasn’t one thing I would change with this camp. We will be returning for years to come!

★★★★★Abigail Castillo

Great camp for children and their parents to make life long memories and be surrounded with other ASL users. Tons of support from amazing volunteers. Highly recommend!

★★★★★Val Suggs

Great campers, great volunteers and great director. Do all the summer activities, swimming, fishing, arts and crafts and daily entertainment and teaching. Such a great community of folks.

★★★★★Pamela Dalton

To understand why I so highly recommend this camp for Deaf/HH children and their parents/guardians, you need to have a basic understanding of my situation which is not normal for all children/families. My husband and I were awarded permanent custody of our niece, who is a child with multiple disabilities and is Deaf/HH. At the time that she came to live with us (11 years old), she did not identify herself as Deaf/HH and was not comfortable with using simultaneous communication (ASL/Verbal) due to having limited contact with other Deaf/HH persons or someone who could communicate simultaneously using ASL outside of her school environment with her Deaf/HH Teacher. Her Deaf/HH teacher recommended summer camps to us and we looked online in a 3-state area trying to find the best camp that would meet the needs of our child. The Signs of Fun camp was the only camp that allowed parents to participate and offered parents a session to learn ASL and about the Deaf culture. I didn’t even know there was a Deaf culture and to be able to learn more, not only benefited my husband and I, but also helped us to understand some of the communication differences with a Deaf/HH child. Through the parent session, we were provided with information and resources that we were not aware of and ReBecca went above and beyond to add a last minute guest speaker based on parent questions and concerns throughout the week. This 1 week summer camp provided more information to me as a parent than I had received from any other source. This also allowed me to meet other families of Deaf/HH children that I am able to stay in communication with throughout the year even though we live in different areas. As for my niece, who had only lived with us for 2 months, she became comfortable with other children and adults who are Deaf/HH and felt safe in the environment the camp provided that she would allow me to go to the Parent class while she attended her sessions; this was a huge step for her to feel safe and be okay on her own. She also now identifies herself as Deaf/HH and will willingly use simultaneous communication when speaking to persons she knows and is comfortable with. She’s not always comfortable signing to someone she doesn’t know; but she now announces herself to let people know she is Deaf/HH when she is talking to them so that they can better communicate with her. Her confidence in herself and self-esteem was boosted in this one week that has stayed with her throughout the year and allowed her to learn and be more comfortable with herself. Signs of Fun Camp was an eye-opening experience for me, as a parent, and the camp and its staff were extraordinary in providing support, encouragement and a positive experience to a child learning to be who she was and being okay with it. Please consider supporting the Signs of Fun Camp in their continued endeavor to provide opportunities to Deaf/HH children and in their support of the families as they address not just the child, but the family circle that surrounds the child and provides support once the camp has ended. I highly recommend this camp to families struggling with ways to communicate and/or to encourage communication for/with their child.