Special Needs Family Camp

If your family includes a child with a developmental disability (to include, but not limited to, Downs Syndrome, moderate to severe autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, epilepsy or traumatic brain injury), you qualify to participate in our Special Needs Family Camp.

Special Needs children should be able to function safely in a group environment. Although staff to special needs camper ratio will be 1:1 during mealtimes and camp activities, activities will be conducted in small age/ability-appropriate groups.

The following behavioral challenges are not considered appropriate for our Special Needs Family Camp program at this time:

• Children who are abusive to self, others or property
• Children with a history of conduct disorder
• Children with a history of physical or sexual aggression

Any of the above behaviors are beyond the scope of the camp to provide safe accommodations to your child as well as others at camp. Thus, any child who displays any of the above behavioral challenges will not be able to participate in the Special Needs Family Camp program at this time.

Absolutely! Whispering Winds is about loving and nurturing families who include a special needs child. We aim to provide a place where special campers and their family members can enhance their confident identity, social skills, physical and thinking skills, and positive values and spirituality by opening up our camp and our hearts for their enjoyment. While we offer Mass on Sunday and our speaker sessions and activities will be Christ-centered, we encourage families who may have strayed from their faith or never embraced the opportunity to include God in their lives to come and enjoy this chance to come together as a family for a weekend retreat of respite, support, and fun on the mountain celebrating each other as God’s wonderful gifts to one another.

Yes! Families are encouraged to include everyone in their family – including non-disabled siblings – in their Family Camp experience. Separate supervised programming for typical siblings will be offered with their age-appropriate peers so that they can have an equally fulfilling and exhilarating camp experience.

A caring and trained Special Needs Buddy will be assigned to your family to serve you and provide any practical support you need to make the weekend restful and enjoyable. Your Special Needs Buddy will be with you at each of the meals and with your special needs child during his/her age/ability-appropriate activities; allowing parents to enjoy their own free-time activities without the responsibility of caretaking. Each Special Needs Buddy has undergone a thorough screening, background check, and has completed our training course.

If your family also includes any typical siblings, age 5 and under, you will also be assigned a Child Care Assistant (CCA) to further serve you and provide you with the same practical support you need to make the weekend restful and enjoyable. Your CCA will also be with you at each of the meals and with your child during his/her age-appropriate activities; further allowing parents to enjoy their own programmed activities without the responsibility of caretaking. Each CCA has also undergone a thorough screening, background check, and has completed our training course. Our CCAs range in age from 9^th-12^th grade in high school.

Special Needs Buddies and CCAs room in separate accommodations and do not provide medical care. If any of your children require medical care, please make arrangements to coordinate this care with your Special Needs Buddy/CCA so that you can provide it. Whispering Winds has ADA accessible lodge rooms, dining facilities and programming sites. We do our best to meet the needs of each family, pertaining to accommodations, diet, or other requirements that you indicate on your registration forms.

The training program for the Special Needs Buddies includes an introduction into special needs – implications for siblings and families; behavior management; collaborative caregiving (with parents/families); issues of concern (physical care, communication, etc.), and more.

Laurie Mikolaycik will be the CCA coordinator for the Special Needs Family Camp. She has been teaching parent education for 30 years and has her Masters in Education/Counseling from the University of San Diego. Laurie is a professor of Child Development for the San Diego Community College District and an adjunct at Point Loma Nazarene University. Laurie served as a camp counselor and team leader at Camp ReCreation and was a certified catechist for special religious education for the San Diego diocese. She has worked in youth ministry and currently serves as a speaker and consultant in San Diego for issues in parenting, child and adolescent development, and spirituality.

Our facilities are rugged and inherently connected to nature; with rocks, tree debris, unpaved walkways, and steep vertical grades. That said, our “common area” facilities (dining hall, Founders Hall meeting space, Prayer Chapel, and 1^st floor lodge rooms) can all accommodate persons with disabilities. Please call our office for further detailed information.

The Deluxe lodge rooms are hotel-style rooms with individual climate control (heat and A/C) wall units and private baths (shower, no tub). Each room provides two twin-size bunk beds. The bottom beds can be pulled out into double beds with twin beds above. Guests are provided with hand soap and toilet paper, but must bring their own linens.

There are eight 1^st floor rooms and four 2^nd floor rooms (stairs, no elevators) located in both the Juanico and the Milner Lodges.

Full payment needs to be received 14 days before the start of camp.

Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable, and cannot be applied to next year’s Family Camp. A great deal is involved in registering/unregistering a family. The deadline to cancel and receive a refund (minus the deposit) is 2 weeks before camp starts. Any cancellations after that will not receive a refund.

Deluxe lodge rooms provide two twin-size bunk beds. The bottom beds can be pulled out into double beds. Disciples Lodge upstairs bunk beds are twin sized. Disciples Lodge downstairs rooms each have 3 bunk beds. In one room 5 beds are twin sized and 1 bottom bunk is full sized.

Your child may bring a friend to camp, just register the child with your family and add him/her in the individual program fee.

Siblings and friends can be in the same age group for programming, however, the older kids need to come down and be in the younger age group. There will be an opportunity to do this at check-in time.

Yes, we need to have an accurate count for all age groups for proper staffing, etc.

For the comfort of all, no pets are allowed at family camp.

If you will be arriving late, please let us know in advance or as soon as possible so we are aware of your arrival. Please give our Welcome Center a call at (760) 765-1600. Provide your full name and what time you will be arriving. Dinner is served from 5:30PM-6:30PM on Friday.

Please visit our Weather page for current weather conditions and average monthly temperature information.

Our site averages about 4500 feet.

You can find a packing list for camp in the list of Family Camp documents. Please keep in mind that weather shifts can happen quite suddenly, so always come prepared for hot/cold or wet/dry weather.

You do not want to bring “dressy” clothes to family camp. All of our paths at camp are dirt roads and you will likely get dirty one way or another. In general, our expectations for camp attire are driven by modesty, showing sensitivity to the concerns of others at camp. In our swimming areas, we ask that gals wear one-piece bathing suits or a bikini with a t-shirt over it. We will also limit swimwear to appropriate areas only.

• Dorm Village: Up to 4 guests
• Disciples Lodge downstairs: Up to 7 guests
• Disciples Lodge Upstairs Wing: Up to 24 guests
• Deluxe Lodge: Up to 6 guests

Normally we are able to fit more guests in our Disciples and deluxe lodges if all space is used (floor space for sleeping bags and air mattresses.)

No. This option is only for grandparents coming to visit their families already at camp. On Saturday, they will need to arrive at 9AM and depart after dinner (6:30PM). On Sunday, they would need to arrive at 9AM and depart after lunch.

The main Family Camp page contains this information. If that is not sufficient enough, please contact our office and we will provide you with further information.

There is no minimum age, but the participant must fit these requirements:

– Height: 42 inches tall minimum
– Weight: Under 250 pounds
– You must fit into a harness comfortably

The participant must also follow the safety standards. It is up to the discretion of the Zip Line leader to decide if a participant is safe and if the participant is making the choice to participate on their own.

All of our forms are available to download and print from the list of Family Camp documents. The waiver is online and accessible from here and the Family Camp page.

Our Food Service team greatly appreciates the opportunity to serve you. We do recognize that there may be dietary needs such as allergies and our desire is to make sure your needs are met. Please make note when you register of your dietary requirements. Our Food Service team will need to know this information one week prior to your stay. Thank you for helping our team partner with you in meeting these needs.

We can no longer provide tipi or tent accommodations. We will have limited temporary RV spots that do have hookups available.

Yes, however, most campers find it much easier to bring their own coolers to store their medications. The Food Service team will gladly provide ice for your cooler if necessary.

Give us a call at 619-464-1479 or e-mail us at office@whisperingwinds.org; we will be glad to answer any questions you may have.