‘Even if it’s flawed it’s still beautiful’: life lessons learned by adolescents with neurological conditions at summer camp

Abstract

Neurodiversity activists have advocated for the inclusion of individuals with disabilities to represent their own needs; however, youth with neurological conditions continue to be excluded from the conversation. This study used photovoice with adolescents to explore what they learned and experienced at a Canadian sleepaway summer camp for youth with complex neurological conditions. Thirteen participants took photographs and discussed their pictures in an interview. The analysis of the qualitative data explored topics including skill building, friendship, and self-worth. The results of this study uncovered a previously discounted perspective regarding camp environments; insights from the participants themselves. Insights from the youth illustrate that there are different ways to think about camp, beyond respite for caregivers. The frequently overlooked perspectives explored by this research highlight the importance of engaging youth with neurological conditions in research and understanding their opinions on the programs they use.

Points of interest

• Children with disabilities have the right to freely express their opinion on the programs they access. We explored what adolescents learned throughout their time at a sleepaway summer camp specifically for youth with neurological conditions.

• A participatory photovoice methodology was used to allow youth to guide the research process and to explore their own thoughts and feelings about attending summer camp.

• This research shows that youth with neurological conditions can be active research participants and elucidate deep and profound insights into their experiences at summer camp.

• Youth described learning new skills such as how to socialize with peers, personal growth and development, and overarching life lessons such as gaining the confidence to be themselves.

• Engaging youth with neurological conditions is important to understand their perspectives on participating in services and be able to develop meaningful programs.

Keywords:

• Neurological condition
• summer camp
• photovoice
• adolescents

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.