Welcome to Camp Abilities Tucson!
Teaming with Never A Loss of Vision, a 501c3 organization.
What is Camp Abilities Tucson?
Check out camp on KGUN9 news: Making Summer Camp Inclusive for All
Camp Abilities is an overnight educational sports camp for children and young adults ages 7 and older who are blind, deafblind, or have multiple disabilities including visual impairment. The purpose of the camp is to empower young people with visual impairments to be physically active, improve their overall health and wellness, encourage them to make food choices that support an active lifestyle, and develop their confidence and self-esteem through sport and physical activity. Camp introduces participants to a variety of sports, including swimming, strength training, horseback riding, blind soccer, beep baseball, goalball, golf, and hiking. Participants benefit from high staff to athlete ratios during all physical activities and events. Camp Abilities Tucson is funded primarily through grants and donations in conjunction with Never A Loss of Vision, a 501c3 organization.
Our Experienced Staff
A secondary goal of Camp Abilities Tucson is to train pre-service teachers and therapists to be educators and allies for students with visual impairments. Performance Coaches at Camp Abilities Tucson are pooled from physical education, special education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and vision programs from across the United States. Head Coaches are experienced individuals in the fields of visual impairment, health & physical education, adapted physical education, blind sport, deafblind education, occupational therapy, and exercise science.
Adapted Physical Education
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, all school-aged children with disabilities are entitled to physical eduction in their least restrictive environment. Camp Abilities Tucson strives to create an adapted physical education environment that allows children with visual impairments to thrive, surrounded by peers who learn in similar ways. Athletes are given instruction with the adaptations and modifications they need to be most successful. This includes modifications to instruction, equipment, and terrain such as tactile modeling, auditory balls, and tactile boundaries.
For more information about adapted PE the rights of students with visual impairments to access physical activity, our staff has compiled fact sheets on Accommodating Students with Visual Impairments in After-School and Community Sport and APE Equipment for Students with Visual Impairments.
Other Camp Abilities Programs
Drs. Lauren Lieberman and Monica Lepore designed the Camp Abilities concept and established the first camp in 1996 at The College at Brockport in upstate New York. Under the guidance of Murry Everson, Christy Morrison, and their daughter Kristin, Camp Abilities Tucson became the third Camp Abilities program in the United States. There are over 25 other active camps in the Camp Abilities model, united in the mission of empowering youth with visual impairments through sport and physical activity. For more information about these programs, visit our "Other Camps" tab.
An athlete makes an "I love you" sign while smiling on horseback.
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A coach calls for the ball from behind the soccer goal as an athlete attempts a shot.
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An athlete tackles a beep baseball base.
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