Children like Eli may be diagnosed with difficulty learning, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, or mild Asperger's syndrome. Some may be autistic or anxious.
Because they're bright and high-functioning, they don't fit in at traditional camps or those aimed at children with more serious impediments, says Sequoia director Ryan Wexelblatt.
"These kids present as normal. Their social cognitive deficits are hidden. What you find is that, when they go to [traditional] camps, they spend all their time with the counselors," Wexelblatt says. "They don't grow."
So, too, the experience of living in a cabin in the woods may be too stimulating and anxiety-provoking for some.
Wexelblatt and his staff of 22 counselors install their charges, ages 8 to 18, in a small-college setting, where campers live together in same-gender dorms and eat in a common dining hall. Quickly, they learn to make friends.
Seventy campers signed up for the first three weeks in July, and 50 for the second three weeks, which ends Saturday. Wexelblatt hopes to get American Camp Association accreditation in 2012.
The ratio of campers to counselors is 3-1. Using a technique known as "Social Thinking," the staffers teach campers the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors.
They learn to put themselves in another person's place, how to recognize social cues, and how to hold up their end of a friendship.
It's a hit with the campers, who welcome the strict routine as well as the gentle prodding from omnipresent staff.
"We love it," says Alex Berman, 10, of Blue Bell. "Ryan made a great camp."
Ari Kelhoffer, 10, from Long Island, has become Alex's buddy through the program. They help one another adjust to camp life.
