autism family weekend

Last weekend (Nov. 19-21), we got to attend the Autism Family Weekend at the Center for Courageous Kids in Scottsville, KY. A good friend of ours, Holly Conley, works out there and had encouraged us to apply. CCK is a non-profit campground that allows kids with disabilities to attend camp when they otherwise might not have that opportunity. The best part is that because it is a non-profit, run on donations, it is free for campers and families to attend. During the summer, older kids attend camp for a week depending on their disability. In the fall, the center has family weekends so that kids of all ages can attend with their families.

It was a lot of fun, and the boys had a blast. Each family is assigned a volunteer counselor to help get them around and to help the kids so that parents can relax a little.

Our counselor was Kellie from Lindsay Wilson. She worked at CCK over the summer and the boys both loved her, especially Owen. Because Lewis was doing some bigger boy activities, Owen got to make some things in the arts & crafts area. He painted a guitar and then this turtle. He's actually a decent painter.

The food was great, and Owen tried tons of new foods, especially fruit. Lewis stuck with his usual menu for the most part, but it was great that the dining hall had rice milk on hand!

We got to go swimming in an indoor pool, make crafts, play in the music room, look at horses (neither child wanted to ride), and fish. Lewis' favorite activity turned out to be......drum roll please........

BOWLING!! We couldn't believe how much he loved it. They had these metal ramp things that allowed him to roll the ball down and he did pretty well, with daddy's help. There were also bumper rails up.
The last day, we let Owen have a turn. They had shoes that fit his little feet! He really enjoyed taking his turn too. It was a fun weekend, but a bit exhausting because Owen had a hard time sleeping in such a big room with his whole family. But, it was nice to talk to other families dealing with the same kinds of things, and to expose our boys to things we normally wouldn't have.