A 10-year-old boy with autism in West Price Hill, Cincinnati, has been waiting six weeks to attend a summer camp at Dunham Recreation Center. Despite an inclusion plan being created for him in March, Miles, the boy, remains on a waitlist for the necessary one-on-one support to safely participate in camp activities.

Family’s Frustration

Miles’ great-grandmother, Theresa Allen, expressed her frustration with the situation, stating that Miles had been looking forward to camp as soon as the school year ended. Allen said, ‘Here it is week number six, and he isn’t able to attend.’ Miles requires one-on-one support to participate in camp activities, an accommodation the Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC) can provide.

Jake Owens, Miles’ godfather, believes the CRC means well but thinks the system needs to be more flexible when there is a shortage of specialized staff members. Owens suggested that the CRC should ‘share the burden with everybody, instead of just placing a waitlist to where the families that already have enough challenges are finding other challenges, even though they did everything right.’

CRC Response

In response to the situation, CRC Director Daniel Betts said he has asked his team to review the therapeutic recreation summer camp waitlist and all factors contributing to the issues Miles is facing. Betts stated that he and his colleagues are committed to identifying opportunities for improvement and ensuring equitable access to CRC programs for all families.

Original reporting: WLWT Cincinnati — read the source article.