SKITUK dam you have to pay now

[2shoes]

I don't use it much, so doubt I will bother, what shame

here

2shoes, i think the £10 was just a nominal fee that was paid through paypal as a way to verify your address and that you are who you say you are really, so its all above board for the charity status.

im not sure why they picked £10 as someone said they could have done the paypal verification for £1, there was also an option of £5 for a years membership to let people see what it was all about but to be honest i think most people who joined just paid the one off £10 as it was better value.

they do put the money back in and lend out big macks and stuff so its not really subsidising meet ups but i do see your point and a lot of old members who didnt join up said much the same thing.

riven I have always wanted to use the calvert trust, but it is just toooooo far away, I am the only driver and I found the top end of Norfolk too far this year.

i just went myself with ds to Calvert but it was nice as everyone helped each other out, watching kids etc, cleaning up puke (sorry about that! ) and i have heard it was like that at the camp too and theres lots of people with bigger kids who go to the camp so you could maybe nick borrow their equipment

I think our trip to Calvert last year worked out about a quarter of what we would have paid if we had gone ourselves and paid full price

kayaking, zipwire, abseiling, archery, quite a lot really and its all adapted so that any ability can do it, theres a video of ds on the zipwire on my facebook page, he loved it and wanted to go down on his own but he wasnt heavy enough and would have stuck in the middle!

this link shows you the sort of stuff

i know the Exmoor one and the Lake District one they will pick you up from the nearest train staion in their accessible mini bus for about £15? although im sure if a group was organised one of them could probably pick you up for free

the Exmoor one is 10 miles from the train station but the lake district one is about 40!

accessability

activities

yep dd could be zipping down a wire, horse riding, canoeing you name it and the great thing is the parents dont have to participate! i just stood at the side taking pics!

i obviously meant accessibility!

Our group went to the Calvert Trust this year. It was heavily subsidised but a bugger to fundraise for as it still costs an absolute fortune and we paid for a carer for each family. We had a great time with the activities BUT be warned, it is definitely a wheelchair-user-friendly place, but a bit of a nightmare for our group who mainly comprise SLD/ASC runners. We had two near-misses with children on the sharp bend of the road outside. Not very accessible in my book.

As to accessibility of SKITUK camps, I mean the distance - and the fact that you have to camp! - rather than access at the site.

Was I right in finding it mainly geared towards PMLD kids? It was a brief impression I got which I think is why I found it not so relevant as here

hehe thats the reason i never bothered with the camping but apparently there were static vans there too although im looking at nearby hotels for this year as theres no way they're getting me in a tent!

not sure its geared towards PMLD kids as there are loads of disabilities and syndromes on there, lots with CP like ds but just as many with ASD and others with chromosone type things?

Well, I will give it another look glittery! I love the idea of the meet-ups, just not the reality!

haha a bit like me really!

SKITUK has children (and now young adults) with just about every kind of special need, from mild speech delays to those with life limiting conditions... a couple of our campers camp with children on ventilators..! My son has ASD/MLD and is relatively able but we feel very much at home..

I love SKITUK because over the very many years that I have been a member (I was one of the first 10 members of the original email group!) I have made so many friends, and it is very inclusive.. and it isn't 'competitive' ..a special need is a special need. my DS2 was 3 when I joined, he's now 13 and the support and friendship I have found over the years has been amazing. We first camped..just 6 families, as friends thro the group 6 years ago.. this summer I think it was about 55 families.. the atmosphere is lovely and the children and siblings have a ball. Quite a few of the older siblings now do DP care for other members and at every camp the kids just blend.. no-one blinks an eye if someone is having an ASD meltdown, there is always someone to help put up a tent, hold your child for a while, squirt them with the big syringes that have become the annual water fight:)

I was VERY anti camping when it was first suggested...but it's now the highlight of my year (and my only holiday!) and my older kids..now 18,17 and 16 absolutely love it.. many a romance has kicked off at SKITUK:):)

Kitsncats - you are tempting me over! Sounds a fantastic support. The trouble with the camp is that DS doesn't sleep well - or at all in a tent - and the journey would be too long. I think it might kill me!!

Next years camp is going to be at Lower Lacon campsite in Shropshire. The facilities were very good indeed..accessible, flat, nice shower blocks, park, pool.. and best of all a cafe right by our field ( blocked off for the skituk group!)

Lots of the kids didn't actually SLEEP... but then as we don't tend to crash out too early it's not so bad. Those who needed more civilised sleeping hired the static caravans:) The family's day was ace too... free BBQ all afternoon, and the usual activities you'd expect (bouncy castle, face paint etc etc)

My son doesn't DO social that well, but he still enjoys it:)

see too far again.
sad that they are always miles and miles away