MIDDLETOWN — Three years ago, the township initiated a Summer Recreation Inclusion Program to provide children with various special needs an opportunity to participate in a traditional summer camp along with their peers.
For the second year in a row, the program will expand thanks to a $20,000 grant the township has received from the state Recreational Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities (ROID) grant program.
“The Summer Recreation Inclusion Program is wonderful, and we are very excited that Middletown has received this grant for the second year in a row,” Mayor Stephanie C. Murray said. “Everyone has done such an amazing job with the program, and the grant funding will allow us to enhance it even further.”
The $20,000 grant will go toward expanding the program to include a weekly series during which campers will not only have an opportunity to meet with different business professionals and take trips to their workplaces, but will work on a summer-long building project — construction of a surrey bike, a doorless fourwheeled carriage.
The grant funding will also be used to provide a quiet room for campers who struggle to cope with various everyday sounds, sights and activities.
According to Anthony Mercantante, township administrator, children with conditions such as ADHD or Asperger’s syndrome, can slip through the cracks and often do not qualify for extended year school programs.
“Our schools have programs, but we became aware that there was a gap in students whose needs weren’t being met,” he said. “So we started this three years ago as a way to address those needs … and bring all the students together.”
The Summer Recreation Inclusion Program takes place in the traditional summer camp setting, but concentrates on offering children a greater degree of support and intervention.
The program works with participants by evaluating their individual needs and setting up a curriculum to help them develop different skills they’ll need throughout their lives, including rule setting and following, addressing feelings, social skills, goal setting and problem solving.
For more information on the Summer Recreation Inclusion Program, call the Middletown Recreation Department at 732-615-2260.