JULY 23, 2024 — There are many ways to conduct academic research, but not many researchers find projects in the joy of a weeklong summer camp. Camp Durango is a summer day camp for children and youth with autism and for their siblings. The goal of the program is to have campers participate in research while they take part in fun camp activities.
“Camp Durango is a grant-funded research project,” said Haley Tapia, Camp Durango co-director. “Our motto is ‘Making research fun.’”
The camp is entering its fourth year under the direction of the UTSA Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) team. Counselors include Texas classroom teachers, graduate students, experts in behavior analysis and community volunteers.
Each year researchers conduct a new set of projects during the camp. This year, two projects focused on teaching social communication skills and gameplay skills using board games and video games, like Mario Kart.
“Our purpose is three-fold: conduct fun and meaningful research-focused on social communication skills and play, provide training and supervision for our counselors, and offer a meaningful and free service to the community,” said Marie Kirkpatrick, UTSA assistant professor.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Autism Grant Program funding makes this camp financially accessible for families or for caretakers of the 150 campers each summer. With an opportunity this good, it explains why it took UTSA less than 24 hours to fully book the camp this year.
“There are limited opportunities for children with autism, particularly those with behavioral concerns, since many camps are not always equipped with how best to support these needs,” said Humberto Peña, UTSA associate professor of research.
As the camp enters its final week, the ABA team at Camp Durango is already noticing positive outcomes during its research sessions, including more successful interactions for the students while playing games and more interactions beyond the research environment.
“Success for us is best defined by the stories we hear from the families and the kids,” said Sierra Stegemann, Camp Durango co-director. “We do aim for and love when our research gets published, but it’s definitely also about the smiles on everyone’s faces.”
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