A plan that began more than five years ago will finally reach fruition next summer when Camp Idlewild is scheduled to open in Land O’ Lakes.
The camp is being developed by The Roach Family Foundation. Irene Roach, founder and president, and her family, intend to provide recreational and camping experiences for children with autism spectrum disorders, who have learning differences and other unique challenges.
Roach said that before her husband Bill died, seven years ago, they talked about doing something for special needs kids.
“We started thinking about a school,” she said, but that idea was dropped because there was too much red tape.
So, the family decided to create a camp instead, Roach said, during an interview along with her daughters, Wendy Neal and Sherri Shuman, at Roach’s Land O’ Lakes home.
“Wendy’s son has Asperger’s. That kind of made up our mind that we wanted to do something for special needs,” Roach said.
Phase one of Camp Idlewild will have a 5,000-square-foot lodge and four cabins, which can accommodate 12 overnight campers each.
“Our lodge is going to be done by December, and the first four of our cabins will be done by February,” Roach said. The lodge includes a lunchroom, a kitchen and a business office.
Plans in phase two include adding four more 12-camper cabins.
Beyond hosting overnight campers, Camp Idlewild also will host day campers. It also has six recreational vehicles spaces, to accommodate families, Roach said
“A lot of people who have special needs kids don’t like to leave them,” she explained. This way, the children can experience overnight camping, but the parents will be nearby.
The camp’s main mission is to be a place where people can have fun, Roach and her daughters said.
The family has done its homework.
Their research began five years ago. They joined the American Camp Association, and have been to conferences in Orlando; New Orleans; Greenville, South Carolina; and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“They’re people who have camps from all over the world, even Russia, China. They all come and network, and it’s amazing,” Roach said.
During one of the first conferences they attended, they met Scott Arizala. He’s a nationally known speaker and author, and runs Camp Tall Tree, a camp for children on the autism spectrum in Michigan.
They have hired him to be their consultant.
“He’s going to come and help us train,” Roach said.
“Now, we’re ready to fine-tune all of programming and our scheduling,” Neal said, adding it will be invaluable to have someone with the depth of his experience to guide them.
The family also has secured necessary approvals and permits from Pasco County, installed needed infrastructure and had the design work done.
The camp is situated on 40 acres that has been carved out of the family’s 140-acre homestead.
In addition to her property, Roach said there’s another 150 acres of cypress swamp surrounding the camp.
Besides working with young campers there also will be some adult programs.
Neal, who is the camp director, expects Camp Idlewild to host some make-and-take workshops to give parents tools for working with their children.
For instance, parents will hear that they need to put together a visual schedule, Neal said, but they have no idea how to do that.
“Of course, I’m a (former) school psychologist, so I knew what those things were. But a lot of my friends, who had kids, they didn’t know what a visual schedule is,” Neal said.
The target market for the camp is kids ages 6 through 17, who are mild to higher-functioning, said Shuman, the camp administrator. “They have to be able to use the bathroom and dress themselves, that sort of thing,” she said.
The camp will operate when school is out, from June through August. Overnight campers will be able to come for a week at a time and can stay for multiple weeks. Day campers may be able to come for as little as three days at a time, Shuman said.
Camp Idlewild will be marketed not only across Florida, but also outside the state, Shuman said.
There may be families that want to vacation to Florida. They’ll be able to go on a vacation, while their special needs child has a chance to experience overnight camping, she said.
Besides having a fully trained staff, the camp will offer a multitude of volunteer opportunities, Roach said.
During the off-season, the facilities will be available for rental for people who want to run their own camps, hold family reunions, have group retreats, do staff trainings and so on.
“We also will be doing our own specialty camps, possibly,” Shuman said.
Programming for Camp Idlewild will include arts and crafts, as well as outdoor activities such as canoeing, fishing and boating.
“We’ll cover the arts, whether it’s music, dance, theater,” Neal said.
“Autistic kids like to perform,” Roach said.
“A lot of them have a lot of talent that they don’t have a chance to express,” Neal said.
“We want to give them a chance to unplug from the technology, but we don’t want to take that all away from them,” she added.
A small petting zoo and organic gardening are also in the plans.
If the kids are involved in gardening, they may be more open to tasting new foods, Neal said.
“Food is a big issue for pretty much all of the kids (on the autism spectrum) that I know,” Neal said. “If they kind of see how they are part of the process, they might actually try something different.”
In addition to summer camp, the organization may also offer some weekend activities during the year, Shuman said.
“One of the big challenges for the kids, especially the big kids, is socialization,” Shuman said. “In our off-season, we’re hoping to continue programs for on the weekends for kids that are peers in the local community to have a place to come, and have a movie night — a way for them to continue the relationships.”
Giving these kids a chance to develop friendships is important, Neal said.
“From my experience, the major gap is the socialization, the friendship, the relationships,” she said.
“They don’t get invited to birthday parties, things like that, because, ‘What if he has a meltdown?’” Neal said.
Camp Idlewild will be a place where kids “can be who they are,” Neal said. “If they want to flap, or if they’re stressed — we’re not here to stop behavior, correct behavior.”
Or, Roach, said, “say no to everybody.”
Neal went on, “Whatever they need to do at the time that they’re doing it — if they’re not hurting anyone or themselves, that’s fine. A lot of kids do things that other people consider as just odd. They try to stop that behavior.
“It’s OK,” Neal said. “It’s a release. If they get a little nervous. They’re not hurting anyone. That’s just who they are. If it makes them feel better, if it’s comforting, then, we’re not going to try to correct that.”
Published September 20, 2017
