How to Prepare Your Child with Autism for a Structured Summer?
JULY 02, 2025
As the school year winds down, many families start thinking about summer plans. For children with autism, this transition can be exciting, but it may also bring challenges, especially around sticking with routine, staying engaged, and continuing with the right supports. With thoughtful planning and the right support, your child can continue making progress all summer long without missing a step.
At Surrey Place, we believe every season is a chance for growth. That’s why we offer autism therapy services, family resources, and engaging autism summer camps designed to help children stay on track and feel supported year-round. To help you get started, here are some practical tips for creating a fun, structured, and successful summer for your child.
1. Establish a Predictable Daily Routine
Children with autism often feel most confident in environments where they know what to expect. A predictable summer routine helps them feel secure and reduce stress during transitions.
Try to maintain familiar routines around daily activities like wake-ups, mealtimes, learning, play, and bedtime. You can also use visual schedules or daily planners to plan and ensure predictability. Involving your child in building the schedule can also be a great way to get them excited and more involved in making decisions! This type of summer structure not only provides comfort, but it can also support in building skills and helps prevent regression.
One of the biggest changes we see is how routines help children feel in control, especially when everything else is changing.
2. Find the Right Summer Camp Experience
Summer camps are certainly a time of fun, but it’s also more than that! Camp can be a nurturing environment for learning, growth, and maintaining developmental progress. A well-structured autism-friendly camp helps ensure your child:
- Stays active in a safe, structured, play-based environment
- Builds social connections and make new friends
- Gains independence and confidence
- Continues developing important life skills
At Surrey Place, our camps are built on Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) principles, creating a supportive setting where learning is embedded in play and every activity has a purpose.
You can see the joy on their faces. While they’re laughing, they’re also building skills that last a lifetime.
So, what’s the difference between ABA Summer Camps vs. ABA Group Therapy?
ABA Summer Camps
Our summer camps provide full-day programming that integrates ABA therapy goals with recreational experiences. Unlike traditional group therapy sessions, camps include:
- Games, sensory activities, and hands-on learning.
- Community outings and real-life skill practice.
- Social opportunities with peers in an inclusive environment.
- Offered 5 days a week for 1 week, for 6 hours a day.
Skills taught in structured settings are reinforced during natural play and daily routines, helping learners apply what they’ve learned in meaningful, practical ways.
ABA Group Therapy
Our ABA group therapy sessions are designed for children and teens with autism who would benefit from consistent daily support. The focus is on:
- Building communication, social and emotional regulation skills.
- Offered 5 days per week for 1 month, 2.5 hours per day.
What Should You Consider When Choosing a Summer Camp?
There’s a lot of different things to consider when choosing what ABA summer camp might be the right fit. A good place to start is to consider these 3 things about your child:
- Interests and likes (and maybe dislikes!): Passion-based camps (e.g., robotics, cooking, or field trips) can help ensure excitement and engagement with the activities.
- Strengths and needs: Look for a program where your child will feel confident, supported, and appropriately challenged.
- Goals and structure: Ensure that the goals of the summer camp program match your child’s developmental objectives to help build on progress and make sure their enjoying themselves.
When a camp aligns with a child’s interests and developmental goals, it becomes a truly empowering experience.
What Summer Camps are available at Surrey Place?
We offer five unique autism summer camps in Toronto, each designed to help learners grow in skills while having a blast! Each camp includes evidence-based strategies, structured routines, and plenty of opportunities for fun, connection, and growth.
- Discovery Day Camp: Building communication and social skills through games, play, and interactive group activities in a supportive, inclusive environment.
- Robotics & Coding: Strengthening planning, logic, and problem-solving by exploring Scratch coding and robotics—perfect for curious minds and tech-loving learners.
- Kitchen Confidence: Fostering independence and hands-on life skills as children learn to follow recipes, prep meals, and take pride in participating in cooking routines.
- Healthy Living: Promoting physical wellness and self-awareness through active play, nutrition-focused activities, and calming mindfulness practices.
- City Explorers: Developing real-world independence with transit training, community outings, and navigation skills that build confidence and practical life experience.
Can Any Child Join a Surrey Place Summer Camp?
Each camp has specific prerequisites to ensure the best possible fit. These criteria help create a positive environment where each child can participate meaningfully and make progress. If you’re unsure which camp is right, our team is here to help! Connect with us and we can guide you on where to start.
3. Keep Therapy and Skill Development Going All Summer
Summer may bring a change in routine, but it shouldn’t mean a pause in progress. Maintaining consistent supports helps children retain the skills they’ve worked hard to build during the school year.
Many therapy goals can also be supported at home through everyday activities, like practicing language during imaginative play, building fine motor skills through crafts, or reinforcing routines during daily tasks. Therapy should complement your family’s summer, not complicate it.
Therapy during the summer can be flexible and still highly effective. It’s about finding what fits your family.
At Surrey Place, we offer ABA therapy, speech and occupational therapy, and parent coaching throughout the summer, so your child can continue growing in ways that work with your schedule. We’re here to support steady progress, all year long.
4. Choose Meaningful, Everyday Activities
Every day activities can be great ways to help reinforce skills in fun and relaxed ways. Simple experiences like water play, nature walks, baking, library visits, or building LEGO creations can support learning naturally and enjoyably.
Aim to balance high-energy play with calm, quiet moments, and explore sensory-friendly events in your community. Keeping your child engaged in activities they enjoy not only makes summer more fun but also helps them to use the skills they’ve learned in real-life settings.
5. Prepare for Smooth Transitions
We know that even exciting changes like starting a new camp or taking a family trip can be overwhelming for children who rely on routine. The more prepared your child feels, the smoother these transitions will be. Some useful tools to help reduce stress for children can include:
- Countdown calendar
- Social stories
- Visual guides
- Role-play
- Practice runs like visiting the camp building in advance.
Proactive planning can set your child up for success, especially during unfamiliar or stimulating events.
Remember, We’re Here to Help!
Summer should be a time of connection, confidence, and continued growth. Our camps, therapies, and family supports are designed to help your child grow their confidence and build on your child’s progress. Let’s make this a summer of meaningful growth and discovery.
Explore our 2025 Autism Summer Camps and secure your spot today!
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