Camp Yofi for families with autistic children
March 2, 2006 by Howard Blas
For the Katten family of West Hartford, Clayton, Georgia was a perfect destination for their summer
vacation-though it is not easy to reach this tranquil spot in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Kattens were one of 20 families lucky enough to participate this past year in Camp Yofi, the first ever
five-day program for families of children with autism.
Camp Yofi was held at Camp Ramah Darom, the newest of the Ramah summer camps, which typically hosts 900 campers and staff members during its summer session. Thanks to Ramah Darom director Rabbi Loren Sykes and Yofi director Susan Tecktiel, the
122-acre Ramah camp was transformed into a different kind of paradise last August.
Campers, siblings and their parents enjoyed such “typical” camp activities as swimming, boating, arts and crafts and Shabbat meals and services. Each Yofi camper was assigned a
college-age “chaver” (buddy) to be with them the entire five days.
No detail was left to chance. Numerous food choices were offered to sometimes fussy eaters, playrooms were offered during meals for children who easily tired of sitting at the table, children were able to participate in such Jewish rituals as challah baking, and parents were able to participate in seminars on such topics as planning a bar or bat mitzvah for a child with autism and support groups by Rabbi Shawn Fields-Meyer, the scholar-in-residence who is the founder of a spiritual support group for parents of children with special needs and herself the mother of a child with autism. Parents were also able to enjoy sports, spend time with their other children, and just “hang out.”
Beth Katten, regional coordinator of the Autism Society of
Connecticut-Hartford Region, attended Yofi with her husband, Stuart, Gary, her 10-year-old son with autism, and Sam, 8. Katten, who spends a lot of her professional time organizing events and programs for families of children with special needs, enjoyed simply being a participant.
“I didn’t organize
it-I just went. It was good for me. It felt therapeutic. We all enjoyed the time with other parents.” She said her younger son especially enjoyed meeting other children who have siblings with autism.
The Kattens consider themselves lucky to have learned of Yofi before it filled up.
Rabbi Sykes had sent an email d’var Torah announcing the program; within days, he received inquiries from as far away as Israel and South Africa. The Kattens jumped on it when Rabbi Friedman from their
synagogue-Emanuel in West
Hartford-alerted them about the camp.
While Ramah is the camping arm of the Conservative Movement, Camp Yofi was open to any Jewish family with a child with autism.
The Kattens and other families were especially pleased with the
cost-each family paid $250 per family for the
five-day encampment. The program was partially underwritten and sponsored by the Barry and Judy Silverman Foundation, the Foundation for Jewish Camping, Nova Southeastern University, and various generous families across the country.
“Maybe we’ll have something like Camp Yofi in our area someday,” notes Beth.
For additional information, visit www.ramahdarom.org or contact Susan Tecktiel, Camp Yofi Director, at
campyofi@ramahdarom.org or (404)531-0801.