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Bedwetting and Summer Camp

Does Your Special Needs Child Have to Miss out on All the Fun?

By Lisa Fernandez

There's no reason why disabled or special needs children dealing with bedwetting, also called enuresis, can't enjoy swimming, horseback riding and playing sports at a sleep-away summer camp.

At Camp Kodiak in McKellar, Ontario, Canada, where the majority of campers have either a learning disability (LD) or ADD/ADHD or both, counselors are more than prepared to handle wet beds. "There is a higher incidence of bedwetting in this population than there is in the general public," says David Stoch, owner and director of the camp, and so his counselors start dealing with issue long before the camper arrives at camp.

At Camp Kodiak, parents are asked on their registration form if their child is a bedwetter, how often they wet the bed and if they need to be awakened to use the restroom. Campers with a known problem are then put on a bottom bunk so they have an easier time getting up to use the restroom and counselors monitor the amount of fluid they drink before bedtime. Counselors also will wake the child up during the night to use the bathroom at a time recommended by the parents.

"If, in spite of our best efforts, Johnny still wets the bed, the situation is handled in a discreet and sensitive way," says Stoch. "Every morning we have a cabin inspection. As part of that inspection, the inspector puts his hand deep into every camper's bed looking for 'sand.' We're not really too concerned about sand; we're looking for wet beds. If we find one, nothing is said to the camper. The inspection is completed, the cabin receives its score, and everyone leaves for breakfast, except one counselor who stays behind to change the bed and deliver the sheets to the laundry. No one is the wiser."

Pat Mejia of California is the mother of 15-year-old Nina, who has cerebral palsy, is deaf and has other disabilities. On occasion, Nina will wet her pants. So before sending her daughter to the Lion's Club sleep-away camp near Yosemite two years ago, Mejia called the executive director to communicate with him about her daughter's challenges.

"I called them six weeks before camp started,'' she says. "Then I stayed in constant communication, talking, e-mailing, faxing. I brought up everything.''

At first, Mejia thought she might have to send an aide to camp to help change her daughter's clothing, but after discussing it with the director, she felt that the counselors' assistance would be adequate.

Want to see more?

• Good Mornings: Bedwetting and Your Child
• Wet, but Dry
• The Effects of Divorce on Children -- A Potential Cause for Bedwetting
• Bedwetting and Special Needs Kids
• Absorbent Undergarments and Special Needs Children
• Under Special Circumstances: Sleep Disorders and Bedwetting in Special Needs Children
• Talk about it!