Camp Ruggles

Address: PO Box 353
Chepachet, RI 02814 Phone: (401) 567-8914 Email: campruggles@cox.net Website: http://www.campruggles.org/Ruggles/Welcome.html

Jim Field – Camp Director

Incorporated in 1974, Camp Ruggles remains Rhode Island’s only therapeutic summer day camp program for children, ages 6-12, who are clinically diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Our program is designed specifically for children with significant difficulties in these areas who cannot succeed in a regular camp environment. All aspects of our camp are designed to meet the individual needs of this special population. From bus pickup to return, we provide a total of 240 hours of highly supervised, case managed, therapeutic care. Each summer, we provide 5,400 healthy breakfasts, lunches and snacks to all of our campers. Our highly structured, case management program emphasizes individual attention, self-esteem building, problem solving and social and physical development, while maintaining an atmosphere that promotes fun and respite from the campers’ daily life. amp Ruggles services children with diagnosed emotional and behavioral disabilities regardless of gender, family income, race, creed or ethnic origins. Throughout the six week camp experience, the program helps prevent campers from losing ground in their counseling and behavior treatment plans and ensures easier transition into the new school year. To do this, our professionally licensed staff of educators, psychologists and medical personnel work as a team to facilitate strategically designed behavior modification plans. These plans coincide with the management plans, Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and 504 plans to guide campers in building self-esteem and self-control. Camp counselors and the camp’s psychologists meet daily in case management teams to track the progress of each camper. Additionally, all staff members evaluate the camp throughout the summer, which allows them to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the campers.  Intensive case management continues to require that we only accept 60 children each summer. Our camper to staff ratio is 3:1. Camp Ruggles strives to enhance camper skills in the following areas: Verbal communication with peers/adults; Verbal expression of frustration without physical contact; Dealing with peer pressure (bullying, embarrassment, etc); Following  specific safety rules; Following directions (preferred and non-preferred, simple and multi-step); Taking turns; Accepting responsibility for personal actions (realizing your choices affect others); Willingness to try new things (getting over fears and challenging oneself); Taking on new responsibility (counselor in training, helping other groups, role models for others); Asking for assistance appropriately (learning to accept help from peers and adults, opening up, trusting others); Mastering individual and group skills that build trust and mutual dependence; Enjoying success in physical skill building that can be used for a lifetime; Preparing for the challenges associated with the teen years and beyond.