'Reverse Inclusion' Makes Local Camp a Revelation for Families

If it weren’t for a summer camp in Anne Arundel County, Hanover resident Erin Pipes and her family would’ve moved.

It’s not that they aren’t happy in Maryland, but Pipes’ son is a special boy, with special needs.

Her son Jared, 13, has autism and attends Hannah More School in Reisterstown. Devoted to offering unique care required for kids with emotional disabilities, autism and other impairments, the school gives Jared a lot, said Pipes, but it’s not everything.

That’s why for the past seven years, Jared has been attending the Mayo Beach summer camp hosted by the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks.

The camp isn’t just a place where special needs children can come together for summer fun, according to Wendy Scarborough, recreation supervisor for adaptive and inclusive programs. The camp is a place where children, regardless of their cognitive or physical situations, come together in an effort called reverse inclusion.

Reverse inclusion is when typical children are given the chance to participate in activities with kids who have been diagnosed with cognitive or physical disabilities, Scarborough said.

For the last seven years, the camp has focused on reverse inclusion and now those who work or volunteer at the camp just call it a program for all abilities,” Scarborough said.

“The program is just amazing. Where else can a child like my son be able to go fishing and swimming and do all these things,” Pipes said. “It’s almost like therapy to him.”

The physical exercise of canoeing, swimming, fishing and sports are great, but it’s the relationships that mean the most, Pipes said.

“The kids have an opportunity to make friends,” Pipes said. “During the school year, Jared goes to a school where everybody has issues. At [Camp Mayo Beach], he doesn’t have to think about all that, he can just go and be himself."

Stories like Jared's are what Scarborough has been striving for ever since the program took an “inclusive” turn seven years ago.

The camp is about 90 percent kids with disabilities and 10 percent without, Scarborough said.

After a visit from a member of the Department of the Interior, Scarborough was told the camp looked like any other day camp, she said. In addition to giving children an interactive look into diversity, kids with disabilities receive one-on-one peer relationships.

“This camp provides everyone a diverse experience in a typical and natural setting,” Scarborough said. “A lot of times, typical students walk away with a sense of awareness for the world around them and the fact everyone has a right to be themselves. I think these students not only develop relationships with campers but relationships throughout the county.”

Scarborough said the increased awareness and sensitivity towards others is something that continues into high school and college.

“We have volunteers who start at 14 and continue to work as 25-year-olds,” she said.

Although Pipes admitted that Hanover isn’t her dream location, she’s extremely grateful to have a camp like Mayo Beach in the county.

“It’s the most amazing thing when you see these young people, who aren’t judging your child, even when he misbehaves or is acting crazy,” Pipes said.

“You can’t find this anywhere else. I’ve looked.”