Parent Resources
The Arc Oregon has a rich history of working to improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families.
Charting the LifeCourse is designed to be used for your own life, for your family members, or in the work you do. The framework and tools will help you organize your ideas, vision, and goals, as well as problem-solve, navigate, and advocate for supports.
A GUIDE FOR INDIGENOUS FAMILIES: The Journey to a Free Appropriate Public Education for Students with Disabilities
Parent Cafe - May 12th, 5-8 pm
Summer Programming for Autistic Students
Summer Programs for Autistic Students - 2026
Adventures Without Limits
(503) 359-2568
https://awloutdoors.org/partnertrips
Adventures Without Limits specializes in creating accessible and inclusive outdoor adventures so that all people can enjoy the mental, physical, and social benefits of spending time outdoors. Our programs are customized to meet the needs of our guests. We have designed and led programs for children's hospitals, cooperative groups, private families, school groups, veterans, and everything in between! Our team is trained, and our gear is equipped to offer adaptive outdoor recreation options.
Aim High PDX
Aim High PDX’s mission is to positively impact as many young people and families as possible through the efforts of unique curricula, implementation of behavioral health strategies, job creation, and educational methods that focus on respect for ourselves, others, and our environment in an effort to work against victimization, bullying, depression, suicide, and discriminatory ideology. We provide unique services through our departments, which include Martial Arts, Screen-printing, Autism Behavior Health services, and Summer Camp, Birthday, and Parents Night Out events.
Aspiring Youth
https://aspiringyouth.net/summer-camps/
GENERAL REGISTRATION: Now Open
Aspiring Youth and Delphi Young Adults have been providing social skills groups, summer camps, coaching, and other programs for children, teens, young adults, and their families since 2004. Students develop tools and confidence to navigate their social world. Through consultation with parents, teachers, and providers, we help our students apply these new skills to their social, academic, and family life. We create an environment where students can make sustainable friendships. Engaging activities strengthen self-esteem and trust, and students build a new social community through social events and year-round programs. Locations throughout Washington, and offers Online Summer Groups (online groups are available for registration by out-of-state participants).
Autistic Community Activity Program (ACAP)
The Autistic Community Activity Program (ACAP) has served people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) since 1987, providing a quality eight-week-long day camp program that combines daily community activities with a familiar schedule and structure. Our summer camp program provides structure in a variety of onsite and community settings while teaching vital and much-neglected skills. Campers make positive strides in learning and practicing practical life skills, relationship development, social and communication skills, public transportation travel, appropriate community behaviors, and reading environmental cues.
Bike First!
https://www.nwdisabilitysupport.org/about-bike-first
The Bike First! program works with children, youths, and adults who experience difficulty getting past training wheels and onto conventional two-wheelers. Bike First! is open to children 8 years and up, meaning there is no cap on the end age. People who experience a variety of disabilities have had success at the clinics, including Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, visual impairments, extreme fear of falling, fine motor challenges, and developmental delays.
Blue Compass Camps
https://volunteer.uwkc.org/agency/detail/?agency_id=60872
Blue Compass offers outdoor programs for kids, teens, and young adults with Aspergers, Autism, and ADHD. Our programs start at age 10 and include programs for young adults. If your child can benefit from outdoor adventures focused on building social and self-confidence, then Blue Compass is perfect for your family. Our camps are designed to provide a small, intimate, and supportive environment, one that allows staff to maintain the highest-quality programs while giving campers the opportunity to excel and celebrate their accomplishments.
Brain Balance of Oregon
https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/
Brain Balance for Children is a brain-and-body wellness program. The program is designed to help your child strengthen and improve their brain’s functioning, positively impacting many areas of their life. Established physical, sensory, and cognitive exercises that enhance focus, mood, memory, and overall daily behavior. Programs are personalized to a child and family's goals. You'll get in-person or virtual performance coaching to reach your goals. Your child will complete the program in-center or from home, depending on your location and preference.
Bustin’ Barriers
Bustin' Barriers provides safe physical activities and meaningful socialization experiences for individuals with disabilities - creating opportunities for participants to have fun and strive toward their personal best. Accomplishments bust the barriers of doubt, misperception, and fear for both program participants and the community at large. Our camps have adaptive equipment available to make activities accessible for participants.
Camp Attitude
Camp Attitude is designed to serve children and adults who cannot attend a typical summer camp without assistance. We strive to help your camper experience “no limits” by doing our best to accommodate all needs, no matter how unique. From specially designed bunk beds to wheelchair accessibility, we prioritize your family’s safety and comfort. For children ages 3-17 who experience physical and cognitive diagnoses.
Camp Meadowood Springs
https://www.meadowoodsprings.org/about-camp.html
Camp Meadowood Springs provides an environment that supports communication throughout the camp day and offers a safe place for campers to practice communication skills. We take inclusion seriously at Camp Meadowood. We believe in the dignity and intrinsic worth of every human being. We welcome, affirm, and support children (and adults!) of all abilities and disabilities, experiences, races, sexual orientations, gender identities, religions, and citizenship/immigration statuses. We strive to create a safe environment for all. For children with speech, hearing, and other communication-related disorders, ages 7 – 14 (or entering 1st through 9th grade).
Camp Namanu
https://www.campfirecolumbia.org/summercamp
Camp Fire’s Summer Day Camp day-to-day activities provide youth ages 5-12 with hands-on learning while keeping all the fun and silliness you’d expect from a traditional summer camp. Camp Fire kids connect with their communities through local field trips and presentations from special guests. Each week has its own unique theme and will include a variety of activities, such as field trips, special guests, arts and crafts, STEAM challenges, and day trips to Camp Namanu.
Camp Odakoda
Our mission is to facilitate the same kind of summer-camp that most children enjoy – with the added support, encouragement, and expertise that we’ve specifically designed for children with these special needs. We offer a 4-night sleep-away experience for boys and girls aged 10-18 with Autism. Our program is centered around promoting social skill development in a fun and exciting way.
Camp Rivendale
https://www.thprd.org/activities/adaptive-and-inclusive-recreation/camp-rivendale
Camp Rivendale contributes to campers' physical, mental, and social growth through exploration of music, dance, drama, visual arts, sports, and aquatics. Our staff and volunteers provide affection, support, and companionship to campers and work to promote the dignity, self-respect, and independence of individuals with disabilities. Each summer, day-long camps are run at this serene outdoor campus. Campers can sign up for as many or as few weeks as they want, but there is no guarantee that they will get in every week. Staff members supervise all activities daily from 9 am to 3 pm. Wildflowers: Campers ages 6-12, Rangers: Campers ages 13-21
Camp Yakety Yak
Camp Yakety Yak is an inclusive social skills day camp supporting friendship development for children with special needs, ages 5-15, & social skills instruction in the workplace for young adults, ages 16-22. Typical Peers & Siblings not only enjoy camp activities but also grow in their patience, empathy, and leadership skills while connecting with other "neurotypical" siblings for some good old-fashioned fun. We also offer special activities for siblings to support their unique needs.
Children's Healing Art Project (CHAP)
https://chappdx.org/workshops/
Since 2006, CHAP has brought the healing power of art to tens of thousands of children and families facing medical challenges. If you are a family with a child impacted by a diagnosis, disease, or special need, we would love to have you join Art Club or our inclusive 1-day and 4-day summer art workshops.
Community-Based Activity Program (CBAP)
CBAP is a summer camp program that focuses on providing enriching activities for children of all ability levels. Our program is grounded in the concept that children learn by actively participating in learning. CBAP programs are centered on each student's capacity, and we maintain that students' strengths can serve as a resource for our community when recognized and channeled properly. We plan both structured programs and recreational activities, always being sensitive to our students' individual needs.
Computer Kids Club
We specialize in Computer science and academic programs designed for children ages 6- 13. We offer SUMMER CAMPS, school break, and HOLIDAY camps, and 1-hour computer science classes all year long! Our instructors are highly motivated and enthusiastic about teaching our youth technology and preparing them for their future. We are licensed and insured, and all instructors have a national background check. NOTE: Our Zoom Room runs on EASTERN TIME, so if you are in a DIFFERENT TIME ZONE, you will sign onto the session 1, 2, or 3 hours BEFORE the session time that is posted.
Day Camp at Easterseals
https://oregon.easterseals.com/get-support/areas-of-support/camp-recreation-programs
This summer, Easterseals Oregon will provide summer day camp programming in four locations around the Portland Metro area and surrounding communities! This exciting new program is designed to offer a safe, engaging, and intentional camp environment for children ages 10-14 with disabilities, under the care of trained staff and volunteers, with a minimum 3:1 staff-to-child ratio. Our Day Campers will experience new things, make new memories, and build lasting friendships through fun camp activities and crafts. We will have 5-day camp sessions, each lasting 5 days, from 9 am-3 pm.
Happy Mindful People
http://www.happymindfulpeople.com/kids-special-needs-movement/
Our small-group movement & mindfulness classes are great for kids who struggle with communication and/or have difficulty navigating social situations. Small-group classes incorporate social skills instruction to help kids build tools for successful peer-to-peer interactions and a stronger sense of self. All are welcome. Your child will develop a toolbox of skills that can easily be transferred to the classroom, doctor visits, and everyday living activities. This program is beneficial for children with physical, cognitive, and social communication deficits, which may include disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Autism, ADHD, and other emotional and behavioral challenges.
Hoop Camp
Hoop Camp caters to both special-needs athletes and “unified” (those without special needs) athletes of all ages and abilities. Many of our special needs athletes have a wide range of developmental delays, such as intellectual impairment, autism, Down syndrome, Angelman syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, and other cognitive delays.
Imagine Theatre
https://www.imaginetheatre.org/
Imagine Theatre is deeply committed to continuously learning, reflecting, and acting to improve inclusion, representation, equality, and diversity within Imagine Theatre. We are a community-driven, Christ-centered organization that focuses on fostering inclusion and empowering youth and families through the theatre arts.
Jennybird Speech & Language
Jennybird Speech & Language is a mobile, in-home, and teletherapy clinic based in East Portland offering the full spectrum of speech-language evaluation and therapy services. My practice is mobile, offering services in clients' homes, public locations, and virtually, meeting children and their families where they are. Some of the services offered are: Individual speech and language therapy, Speech and language evaluations, Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) evaluations, AAC therapy and implementation, Game-Based Language & Social Communication Groups, Consultation, and Community education for children, teens, and caregivers.
Little League Challenger Division
The Challenger Division was established in 1989 as a separate division of Little League to enable boys and girls with physical and mental challenges, ages 4-18, or up to age 22 if still enrolled in high school. For more information on the Little League Challenger Division, email [email protected]
To find a local league, https://www.littleleague.org/play-little-league/league-finder/
Mt Hood Kiwanis Camp for Children & Adults with Disabilities
Offers children and adults with disabilities an opportunity to leave behind their routine lives and taste the freedom of the outdoors - to go beyond limits that they and others have set for them. Residential camp offers horseback riding, canoeing, swimming, arts and crafts, hiking, camping, outdoor cooking, and a challenge course.
Social Skills Group at New Horizons Wellness Services, LLC
https://nhws.us/therapy-services/social-skills/
Here at New Horizons Wellness Services, we offer a range of social skills groups depending on your age and developmental level. These groups are designed to teach critical social skills that you or your child are having difficulty picking up in your natural environment. You’ll learn these skills in an environment that’s structured, but feels natural. The idea is to generally recreate the conditions of everyday life to prepare you for such situations.
Some of the key components of each curriculum include: initiating interactions with peers, taking turns, sharing, understanding and following rules, resolving conflicts, being aware of social cues, recognizing nonverbal cues, regulating emotions, understanding others’ perspectives, and maintaining age-appropriate conversations.
North Clackamas Parks & Recreation
https://ncprd.com/program-guide
NCPRD offers a wide variety of affordable and safe summer camps to keep children of all ages active, learning, and having fun all summer long.
Summer Camps 2026
Registration is open now for camp descriptions and registration. Click here.
Adaptive and Inclusive Sports
https://teamsideline.com/sites/clackamas/home#
If you have an interest in receiving emails about our upcoming Adaptive & Inclusive Events, please add your name and email address to our list by clicking the link below. Adaptive & Inclusive Program Interest List
If you would like additional information about our Adaptive and Inclusive Program, please email [email protected].
Sensory Friendly Swim - North Clackamas Aquatic Park
Check the calendar or call for any current scheduled sessions
Sensory Friendly Swim is a welcoming aquatic environment for swimmers seeking reduced noise, limited lighting, and fewer swimmers in a flat-water setting. Swimmers are required to have a responsible supervisor join them in the water. The swim includes waterslides, a dive well (no diving board), a kiddie pool, a hot tub (for 18+), and a wave pool (no waves). Two quiet rooms are available as calm spaces. To reduce noise levels, no waves, interactive fountains, or whistles will be used.
Dance and Cheer Stars
https://ncprd.org/programs/youth-classes-and-activities/youth-sports
Dance and Cheer Stars is a coed recreational dance and cheer team for youth in kindergarten through 5th grade (and) youth ages 12-25 with a disability or additional need (A&I team). Participants will learn the fundamentals of dance, as well as basic cheer motions and jumps, in a fun and encouraging environment. Participants will dance to popular age-appropriate music. All teams will perform for family and friends at two special performances.
North Pole Studio
https://www.northpolestudio.org/about
North Pole Studio supports careers in the arts and exists to increase opportunities for artists with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities to thrive as active members of the arts community. We foster self-determination and facilitate meaningful connections through total engagement in the arts.
We believe that a collective understanding of diverse human experiences is foundational to a vibrant and whole community. Through studio practice and community engagement, we ensure that artists with autism and I/DD live as self-determined, visible, and valuable contributors to the local and national contemporary art community.
Oregon City Parks and Recreation Swim Lessons
https://www.orcity.org/1032/Swim-Lessons
Our group swim lesson sessions include 9, 27-minute lessons and are $50 for Residents of Oregon City and $70 for Non-residents of Oregon City and other surrounding cities. Please be aware that not all 97045 addresses are considered residents. Private lessons are $30 per 27-minute class, and semi-private lessons are $43 per class.
Oregon Youth Soccer-TOPS Programs in Oregon
https://www.oregonyouthsoccer.org/topsoccer/
TOPSoccer is a community-based program for players with disabilities. There are thousands of children with disabilities who need and can be provided with the opportunity to play soccer through the TOPSoccer program. This program is designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to any boy or girl who has a mental or physical disability. Our goal is to enable the thousands of young players with disabilities to become valued and successful members of our OYSA family.
Portland Parks and Recreation Adaptive & Inclusive Recreation (AIR) Inclusion Services provides accommodations for people with disabilities/special needs, allowing everyone to take part in PP&R classes and activities in their chronological age group. Activities are done in an inclusive setting. Requesting an Inclusion Assistant is free, but you need to fill out the form at the link below to request one.
https://www.portland.gov/parks/inclusion
Portland Parks & Recreation
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/38277
Summer Free For All
https://www.portland.gov/parks/arts-culture/summer-free-all
Summer Free For All builds community through free, inclusive, and family-friendly activities that celebrate Portland's diverse cultures and local artists.
Recreation and Wellness Resource Navigation Guide
https://www.ohsu.edu/oregon-office-on-disability-and-health/navigating-resources
The Resource Navigation Guide provides information about resources that are accessible and inclusive for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and other disabilities in Oregon communities.
Saints Soccer Summer Camp
https://saintssocceracademy.org/2025-summer-skills-camp-series/
SAINTS SOCCER ACADEMY is a unique Developmental & Competitive soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. Our teams and programs are all-inclusive for boys and girls from age four up through High School. Saints Soccer Academy’s Summer Soccer Skills Camps take place throughout the summer. We’ve split up our camps into FULL DAY SKILLS CAMPS and 1/2 DAY ELITE SKILLS CAMPS this year.
Speak and Be Heard
http://www.speakandbeheard.org/#/
We are a theater company dedicated to bringing the joy of the theater to neurodiverse populations. We believe that everyone has a fundamental right to communicate and experience the world in a positive and meaningful way. Our camps and classes focus on teaching social skills, teamwork, and problem-solving through the art of theater. Children gain valuable social skills and peer interactions by participating in our small-group classes. Speak and Be Heard Theater is run by a certified Speech and Language Pathologist who has more than 14 years of experience working with neurodiverse populations, including children with Autism, Down Syndrome, Intellectual Disabilities, and more. Weekly camps are offered for children aged 7-18.
Special Olympics
https://soor.org/become-an-athlete/find-the-local-program-near-you/
Offers year-round sports. Connect with your local program.
Spectra Gymnastics
Our mission is to celebrate and embrace all abilities without judgment, regardless of personality, behavior, or cognitive differences. Through our programs, Spectra strives to provide a nurturing, structured, and inclusive gymnastics environment. We offer premium-level service to inspire and promote social growth and development through a sensory-rich gymnastics experience, no matter where the student is in their journey. Our special-needs gymnastics educational programs target social-emotional development, nurture social skills, communication, engagement & confidence through movement and play.
SUN Community Schools
https://multco.us/sun/sun-community-schools
SUN Community Schools aims to extend the school day and develop local schools as “community centers”. We work with partners and community organizations to include them as part of our school environment. This includes hosting community/partner meetings in the school.
Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District Inclusion Services
https://www.thprd.org/activities/adaptive-and-inclusive-recreation/inclusion-services
THPRD's Inclusion Services program provides reasonable supports and accommodations that assist patrons experiencing a disability in participating in the wide variety of programs and activities available through THPRD.
THPRD Summer Guide
https://www.thprd.org/facilities/recreation/garden-home/summer-camps
Upward Bound Camp
Upward Bound Camp supports the belief that every person is important, worthy of love and caring service. The purpose of Upward Bound Camp is to provide ongoing, Christian-based recreational and educational camp experiences for persons with disabilities aged 12 and over, in an environment that offers opportunities for growth outside the individual’s usual routine or habitat.
Vancouver Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services - Adapted and supported programs
https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/adapted-and-integrated-programs.aspx
People of all ages with disabilities can participate in any of the activities offered in our activity guide. Reasonable accommodations/modifications will be provided to people with disabilities in accordance with the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Zen Penguin Swim School
https://www.zenpenguinswimschool.com/home
Everyone at Zen Penguin is an ADHD and/or autistic adult, with several of us parenting our own neurodivergent kid(s). Penny, our founder, is not just someone who knows how to swim; she's also done years of research on co-regulation, the nervous system, and how to help your kids move through their sensory experiences to reach their goals, so that our whole team can help your child learn to swim in the way that feels best for THEM.
Other Sensory Friendly Options
Chuck E. Cheese - Sensory Sensitive Sundays program
https://www.chuckecheese.com/sensory-sensitive-sundays/
We’re able to offer families a quieter dining and entertainment environment, dimmed lighting, and a sensory-friendly arcade experience. Our sensory-friendly events also include a trained and caring staff to ensure each guest has a safe, fun-filled visit.
Sensory-Friendly Movies
Sky Zone Sensory Hours
https://www.skyzone.com/programs/sensory-hours/
Enjoy the freedom of jumping. Sensory hours provide a quieter, toned-down jumping experience for those with special needs, making our special-needs playground the perfect place to have fun and feel included.
Updated as of 4/17/26
Sample Tests and Available Supports