It can be tough to go home after joys of Camp Riley, research finds

But when the research team asked campers to fill out a questionnaire immediately following their one-week stay at Camp Riley — and compiled follow-up responses three to seven months later — they found that 50 percent of the campers expressed frustration about the lack of similar activities and experiences in their home communities.

“They see their week at Camp Riley as right next to Christmas,” said Doug Knapp, associate professor in the IU School of Public Health. “I didn’t expect the intensity of the peer aspect, how important it was to be with kids like themselves. The connection they had with fellow campers was amazing. But they don’t have this when they return home.”

Campers said they loved talking about regular “kid stuff” rather than wheelchairs and medicines and treatments. Knapp said they called themselves “war buddies,” indicating the same kind of bond war veterans have after serving together on the battlefield.

“During camp, the social interaction of the kids with other kids with the same disabilities provides enormous support,” she said. “Kids with terminal cancer can say, ‘Yes, I’ve got that,’ and they can talk about it like any normal thing. The kids can’t even get this with their own family members.”

Knapp said the youngsters’ friendships were so powerful during the camp, and the activities and challenges were so self-affirming, that they were disappointed when they returned home and could not find the same opportunities and social bonding.