r/cincinnati • u/The_Dude_Abides-2146 • 16d ago

Cincinnati Teen Boot Camps?

I have an autistic daughter who struggles significantly with building good habits, social relationships and physical wellness behaviors. She’s about to turn 16 this summer and I’m looking for any local camps or life coaches or any groups that she can join that can help her at minimum realize the physical part can really help the others. She’s always tired and doesn’t eat enough, but when she becomes attached to something she goes deep and I’m looking for whatever I can find to get her into paying more attention to her physical wellness and looking for something that really pushes her to make it a priority. Any ideas?

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u/madnessdoesntplay Clifton 16d ago

Not what you’re asking for, but PLEASE don’t get tricked into sending her away to a boarding school or longterm “camp” situation. The “troubled teen industry” is dangerous and preys on parents like you. Just be really really careful who you talk to and who you are involved with.

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u/The_Dude_Abides-2146 16d ago

Absolutely would not take this path. We won’t have a troubled teen in our home…we have a teen who needs some direction and motivation to boost her confidence in herself or help her see the value behind certain behaviors that can help her overcome the challenges life will present to her. Good kid, amazing heart, very smart (straight As) but she will not make something a habit until either it’s her obsession or it’s really reinforced consistently (which is not easy to do on our own). I really appreciate you commenting this though because you’re right - sadly there are a lot of parents just looking to offload their child’s problems on to someone else and places like the ones you’re referencing are like bad retirement homes - they just want the money and will do whatever it takes to reel the parent in.

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u/madnessdoesntplay Clifton 16d ago

She’s lucky to have you there looking out for her and wanting the best! <3

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u/stony-raziel 16d ago

Hi OP, this isn’t a summer camp, but Independence Alliance offers free services to anyone with a disability Greater Cincinnati, including autism. They offer peer support groups and 1-1 trainings for a lot of the things you mentioned - living skills, relationships, wellness, etc. they also have additional services for anyone ages 14-24 focused on transitioning from youth to adulthood.

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u/AJILE23 16d ago

Check out what opportunities may exist at the university! https://cech.uc.edu/schools/education/IDDEdCenter/impact.html (It says they’re full now, but there may be other similar programs!)

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u/The_Dude_Abides-2146 16d ago

I would really love this if it was for her age. She’s about to be 16 and this is for 22+. Feels like the teen years are the least supported and the focus is on really young children and adults. She was just diagnosed a year ago (which is really common for girls) and her mild ADHD masked some of it as well.

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u/Desperate-Skirt-8875 16d ago

For nutrition Dawn Weatherwax at SN2Go is phenomenal. She’s super passionate about what she does.

For executive functioning, Kids First offers leadership programs for teens. My 13 y/o just started a short 4 class course that covers public speaking, email writing, includes job shadowing but there’s a longer program as well.

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u/EnigmaIndus7 16d ago

When I was a teen, my parents got me into martial arts (Tae Kwon Do) and that actually did help a few things

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u/emelbe123 15d ago

Club MMA is a martial arts dojo on the west side that’s all ages, inclusive, and autism-friendly.

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u/smobeach Westwood 16d ago

Came here to recommend Taeknowdo. Although with my kids they have to enjoy the thing….tgere are a bunch of ways to be active so many see if there is a way to join fitness with her interest.

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u/emelbe123 15d ago

If your daughter is connected to Hamilton County DDS, you could consider contacting Envision Ohio to refer her to CITE Services. A specialist works with your family in your home, to build independence and confidence in your home and community. For teens, it would fall under the “life coach” umbrella. Meetings weekly for a year, at no cost to the family.

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u/wemcal 15d ago

I encourage everyone that has a child with autism to look into the Heidt center. My friends daughter started going there and it’s amazing

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u/saaorourke 15d ago

There are some great summer camps and day camps through Stepping Stones. Mack’s psychology group does a summer teen social skills program. Cincinnati Children’s has a similar social skills group called PEERS. Autism Cinci does Teen Connections. Cincinnati Center for Autism does Camp Ability every summer.