Suzanne Stoltz, a many-year participant at a MDA camp, charts the political underbelly of the disability summer camp experience.
Summer camp for kids is usually perceived as a fun time where participants socialize, play, run, and swim. This includes summer camps dedicated to serving kids with the same or similar disabilities, like those sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). But, there is more going on than camp songs and meal time hi jinks. We look at the ways disability summer camps both support and dis-empower kids with disabilities.
Suzanne Stolz, Ed.D. serves as the Academic Coordinator of the Online M.Ed. and as faculty for the program’s Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Education specialization, University of San Diego.
Suzanne contributed an article about her experiences in an essay which appeared in Disability Politics in a Global Economy; Essays in Honor of Marta Russell, edited by Ravi Malhotra. Her essay was called “Disability Community, Policy, Care and Empowerment: ‘Growing Up’ at MDA Camp and the Shaky Social Contract.”
Produced and hosted by Eddie Ytuarte.