Flash back to 4 years ago and Autism Camp Australia was just a twinkle of an idea in my as-yet-to-be-diagnosed AuDHD brain. Fast forward through bushfire evacuations, a global pandemic and devastating floods and despite all these challenges our charity is now employing over 120 people in four States and improving the health and wellbeing of hundreds of Autistic young people and their families. Never in my wildest dreams, could I have imagined how far reaching and effective our programs would be.

My most important job, as a parent, is to advocate for my children, to support them to grow, become more independent, build on their strengths, celebrate their talents, and ensure they find their place in the world.

I recognised a need for my own family to find our Autistic community and take part in experiential learning programs that we could enjoy and grow from as a family. Somewhere I knew our Autistic daughter would get to hang out with other Autistic young people, enjoy a tailor-made intensive program of capacity building activities and be supported by carers who really understood the lived experience of Autism. A place where she could just be herself.

I also recognised that my allistic (non-Autistic) daughter needed to feel special too. I wanted her to enjoy her own program of activities, and be supported in her role as a sibling to a young person with additional needs.

And lastly, I recognised that as a parent, I needed some educational support and some self-care sometimes. Somewhere I could meet other families like ours.

With all this in mind, I decided to set up Autism Camp Australia.

We asked you what you wanted too, and it seemed there were a few of you who also wanted this. You completed, all up, over 800 surveys telling us what you wanted. Your feedback and comments and emails were, well....seriously, astonishing. Our camps are definitely very much needed.

ACA was launched to fill a critical gap in services to Autistic young people and their families. ACA participants are young people aged 7-14, diagnosed with Autism levels 1, 2 and 3 under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) diagnostic criteria, their parents/carers and siblings. Many participants have coexisting disabilities including Intellectual Disability, Global Developmental Delay and ADHD.

The camps are funded by the NDIS (through individual participants plans), Carer organisations, Foundations and grants and a modest out-of-pocket contribution from participants.

Our first location opened in the Tweed/Byron region of NSW in January 2020 … a second location opened on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland in December 2020, a third location in Victoria in December 2021. We plan to open more camp locations in Australia and are designing a new teens and young adults program, before expanding into International programs. Hundreds of Autistic young people and their families are already benefitting from our programs.

ACA’s experiential learning camp program helps form an initial engagement for many isolated Autistic young people and works as a stepping-stone to mainstream inclusive social and community participation. We recognise neurodiversity as a way of thinking that supports our young people to grow into confident and happy adults. Our vision is self-reliance, independence, social connection and community inclusion for Autistic young people and their families. 

Our camp program takes an authentic strengths-based approach to the health and wellbeing of Autistic young people and their families. At camp, we celebrate neurodiversity, embrace difference and nurture individuality. We want our young people to develop confidence and independence, increase their social connection, develop new and lasting friendships and celebrate their Autistic identity. We want our parents/carers and siblings to build increased resilience, enhance their social networks and have a greater ability to maintain informal supports for their young people.

Our commitment to embracing neurodivergence is in everything that we do. We are Autistic-led - we pride ourselves on having significant neurodivergent representation at every level of the organisation, are informed by lived experience and engage in positive lived-experience role modelling. We listen, engage and uplift Autistic voices, constantly evaluating and improving to be the best we can be for all Autistic and neurodivergent people. We support, listen to and learn from both individuals representing the global Autism voice, and individuals from marginalised and under-represented intersectional groups within our Autistic community. We partner with like-minded organisations who understand the incredible value of neurodivergence in the workplace.

We are passionate about driving life changing outcomes for Autistic people around mental health and wellbeing, employability, economic participation, education, and ultimately life expectancy.

We are leaders in the evolution of a balanced and respectful relationship between Autistic young people, their families and all Australians.

Read on to find out more and make sure you sign up for our newsletter to be kept in the loop as new dates and locations are released. :)

The Program

Autism Camp Australia (ACA) has developed a program which includes a range of activities to improve the health and wellbeing of participants. The program caters to Autistic young people, aged 7-14, diagnosed ASD levels 1, 2 and 3 under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM V), and their families.

Autism Camp Australia supports families of Autistic young people through a comprehensive evidence-based capacity building and life skills development program for the whole family.

We have developed a program which enables
> Autistic young people, to take part in a program of therapies, social learning and life skills activities;
> Autistic young people to build connections easily by socialising with their peers;
> Autistic young people to explore sensory and emotional regulation in a dedicated sensory and proprioceptive space;
> siblings to take part in a program of outdoor activities and adventure challenges and a peer-to-peer sibling support program; and
> parents to enjoy a break (while the children are in activities between 8.30am-4.30pm) and take part in parent/carer educational support and self-care programs.

Outcomes

We have developed the most comprehensive camp program in Australia, for families of Autistic young people. Our programs are tried-and-tested, and the results speak for themselves. Our existing evaluation data shows families experience:

- improved skills/knowledge (96%)
- increased motivation and confidence (93%)
- had a boost to self-esteem, mental and physical health and resilience (91%)
- reduced social isolation and enhanced social networks (86%)
- achieved improved capacity and resilience in emotional and behavioural functioning (88%)

 These are the outcomes we are seeing in the short and medium term, and expect to see in the long term for families attending our camp programs.

Short Term Outcomes

• Participants experience a ‘safe’ environment alongside other Autistic families and supported by specialised team members. They share stories and experiences with people who have lived experience of Autism or are living within an Autistic family.
• Participants feel a sense of relief from social isolation and form new valuable and reliable social connections with people from their Autistic community.
• Participants are able to ‘just be’ while at camp. The neuro-normative expectations of day-to-day mainstream life are put to one side, and they are encouraged to celebrate their Autistic identity and Autistic culture. Participants engage with positive role models and experience inclusion, acceptance and autonomy.
• Participants are engaged in therapies, education, skills development and peer-to-peer support as part of the program. They benefit from increased knowledge, understanding and training.
• Participants in the programs build capacity in confidence, self-reliance, independence and self-advocacy skills.

Medium Term Outcomes

• Participants form long and lasting friendships. They meet with, and talk with new friends, and reach out to other members in their Autistic community. They have increased social supports. They foster a strong sense of belonging and increase their social cohesion, connection and functioning within their ‘safe’ Autistic community.
• This new sense of inclusion, acceptance and autonomy is empowering for participants. Their new approach is transformative, reducing anxiety and building self-worth. Participants experience an improvement in their mental health.

• Autistic young people are able to participate more at school. Their new found confidence helps them navigate the often confusing idiosyncrasies of neurotypical behaviour and social situations become easier.

• Siblings have a greater ability to maintain informal support of the Autistic young person, to advocate for, and support them to participate and contribute to community and enjoy an enduring and mutually sustaining relationship.
• Parents experience an increase in confidence and this enables them to explore new opportunities like volunteering, work placements, training and apprenticeships, as well as practical assistance and supports.

Long Term Outcomes

• With their new Autistic family friends, participants feel supported to try new things. They have much higher engagement and participation rates in mainstream social and community activities. This results in a much stronger sense of connectedness in their broader community, and in turn, gives them the confidence and connections to access support networks, community services and other new opportunities of social, civic and economic participation.

• Participants experience a sustained increase in self-worth and wellbeing and improvements in mental and physical wellbeing. They regularly engage in self-care  and are better able to care for and support themselves and their family members.

• Participants experience a cumulative increase in confidence, community connection, skills, knowledge, training and independence improving readiness for economic participation, employment and education. Reduced levels of welfare dependency in the long-term.

Ultimately, all of these factors will impact on life expectancy, which best-case scenario, based on three international studies, is currently 53 years of age.