It's a summer camp unlike any other...and it's helping students with disabilities thrive. He's this week's KRLD Difference Maker.
It's not hard to see the passion James Udell has for special education.
"My heart kind of expanded from my general education students to my special education students because there was just a love there when I would see how quickly they learned if I had patience," James said. "And I made sure they learned their goals once I identified their goals. I'd have communication with parents and it was more of a community when it came to a lot of the special ed department."
It's not just any community - these are students with all kinds of disabilities including down syndrome, autism, adhd, cerebral palsy and more.
James is the Vice President of Youth Services at Ability Connection, which is a Dallas-based nonprofit agency specializing in care for all types of intellectual and developmental disabilities.
He also oversees their summer camp, called Camp Connections, which provides a comprehensive, meaningful summer program for tweens and teenagers with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
"We have expectations and basic rules," James said. "But the goal is to get them to learn together while socializing so they're playing games and they're learning."
And while it is all about the kids, James says it also gives parents and caregivers a much-needed and well-deserved break.
"Oftentimes, because the parent is the sole caregiver of their child in need some parents think that they don't deserve a break because they are the parent," James said. "And so our job is to remind them that everybody deserves a break sometimes."
Camp Connections will host two separate sessions from June 6 - July 1 and July 5 - July 29.
"I can see them thriving and for me, it reminded me what community is really about. It's about helping each other succeed. So me figuring out what the child needed to succeed, I was just kind of glad to be a small part of their learning journey," James said.
To learn more about Ability Connection and all of its programs, please visit abilityconnection.org.
We're proud to call James Udell and Camp Connections this week's KRLD Difference Makers.
if you know someone making a difference in the community, send us an email at differencemaker@krld.com.
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