This blog post is part of the Diabetes Past & Present series examining how diabetes history shapes current events in the community. You can check out part one of this series focusing on insulin development here. This blog will address the creation of diabetes camps. Learn more about Eleanor Medley, the author of this series, here.
An easy way to describe many Connected in Motion events is “diabetes camp for adults”. For some, attending diabetes camp was a highlight of their childhood, and CIM gives them the opportunity to continue enjoying similar experiences into adulthood. For others, CIM is their first time in a diabetes community of this sort. Whatever the case, diabetes summer camps laid the groundwork for establishing T1D communities in outdoor settings. Here, I will describe the history of diabetes summer camps and explain how CIM takes experiential diabetes education one step further.
Something that may surprise you—diabetes camps were the first “illness-specific” summer camps, if you will. Apparently, people with diabetes have been seeking out community for quite some time! The first diabetes camp was started by a doctor in Michigan in 1925, shortly after the discovery of insulin therapy, and long before the diabetes online community was in existence. It was not uncommon for doctors to be involved in founding the first diabetes camps—Dr. Henry John started the Cleveland diabetes camp in 1929, Dr. Elliot P. Joslin formed diabetes camps in Massachusetts in the thirties and forties, and Charles Best (co-discoverer of insulin, mentioned in Part I of this series!) was involved in starting a camp in Toronto in 1946. The goal of these early camps was to “not only facilitate the development of good diabetes care and education through a safe recreational experience, but also to create an environment that would promote a healthy childhood and quality of life”.
As a kid, I attended the Clara Barton Camp in Massachusetts. It was founded in 1932 by Dr. Joslin and a group of Universalist women on the property where Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was born. I remember being happily surrounded by other kids managing their diabetes just like me for the first time. One of the things that sticks out most in my mind was the emphasis on trying new things with the support of fellow campers and counselors. If someone gave themselves an injection for the first time or tried out a new location for an infusion set, the entire camp would bang on the mess hall tables and shout in celebration.
A huge sector of the Connected in Motion Ontario community grew up at Camp Huronda, on the shores of Lake Waseosa. Camp Huronda is Canada’s largest camp for kids with diabetes, founded in 1964. In fact, Camp Huronda was a major reason that CIM thrived early on – it provided a place for folks who had ‘aged out’ of camp to reconnect with the community in a way that felt familiar, as well as a space for new community members, be them newly diagnosed, or just non-kid-campers, to engage.
Numerous studies have reported the positive effects of diabetes summer camps on campers’ physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. They have been found to increase campers’ ability to confidently manage their diabetes in concrete ways such as figuring out the right insulin dose, but also emotionally by decreasing diabetes-related anger and sadness. It is important to note, however, that such studies had low response rates from low-income minority families. Diverse representation is lacking in many aspects of the diabetes community, and camps are not an exception.
Since the inception of diabetes camps, many other illness-specific camps have been established. For example, there are camps dedicated to children with asthma, cancer, HIV, musculoskeletal diseases, skin diseases, and multiple conditions. Similar to diabetes camps, these other camps have been shown to have positive outcomes for campers through the normalization of conditions that can make them feel different from their peers in other situations. The 2020 documentary Crip Camp: a Disability Revolution chronicles the experiences of kids that went to Camp Jened, a summer camp for children with disabilities located in the Catskills, in the seventies. Friends from Camp Jened went on to lead the fight for disability rights in the U.S., utilizing skills and lessons instilled at camp.
It was reported that in 2011, 30,000 children attended diabetes summer camps in North America, and an additional 16,000 attended camps worldwide. What happens when these children grow up, though? And what happens to people diagnosed with diabetes later in life, past camp age?
This is where Connected in Motion steps in. When our founder, Chloe Vance, was newly diagnosed, she did not see places in Canada for adults with diabetes to gather outside of a clinical setting. She loved being active in the outdoors and wanted to meet other people with diabetes who felt the same way. Thus, Connected in Motion was started by people with diabetes, for people with diabetes to address a longstanding gap for adults in the community. We know that like the importance of peer support for children with diabetes, adults benefit from learning in a group of people who “just get it”.
Through events such as Adventure Trek, Connected in Motion continues to push the boundary of what people with diabetes can experience together in a safe, supportive environment. We love to empower newcomers to learn from more experienced adventurers by joining the slipstream. With our adventures and slipstream weekends, we continually challenge what those outside and also within the diabetes community believe is achievable for people living with diabetes.
Just as experiences at diabetes camp as a child can continue to inform one’s relationship with diabetes later in life, the history of diabetes summer camps informs programming in the diabetes community today. Connected in Motion was created to bring experiential outdoor learning to adults with diabetes, because adults deserve to have fun outside with diabuddies too!
Timeline. 1925: First Diabetes Camp Opens, Dr. Wendt opens first diabetes camp in Michigan. 1929: Longest Operating Camp Opens, Dr. Henry John opens Cleveland diabetes camp. 1932: Clara Barton Camp, Dr. Joslin and Universalist women open diabetes camp for girls in MA. 1946: Toronto Camp, Charles Best helps establish diabetes camp in Toronto. 1948: Joslin Camp, Dr. Joslin and Universalist women open diabetes camp for boys in MA. 2009: CIM Slipstream, Connected in Motion holds first slipstream weekend in ON.
References:
[1] Maslow, Gary R, and Debra Lobato. “Diabetes summer camps: history, safety, and outcomes.” Pediatric diabetes vol. 10,4 (2009): 278-88. doi:10.1111/j.1399-5448.2008.00467.x
[2] Maslow & Lobato, “Diabetes summer camps: history, safety, and outcomes.”
[3] Maslow & Lobato, “Diabetes summer camps: history, safety, and outcomes.”
[4] “History.” The Barton Center for Diabetes Education, Inc., www.bartoncenter.org/the-barton-center-overview/history/.
[5] Caffrey, Mary. “Researchers Turn Attention to ‘Power’ of Diabetes Camps.” AJMC, 26 June 2017, www.ajmc.com/view/researchers-turn-attention-to-power-of-diabetes-camps.
[6] Caffrey, “Researchers Turn Attention to ‘Power’ of Diabetes Camps.”
[7] Sendak, Mya Deboer, et al. “Positive Youth Development at Camps for Youth with Chronic Illness: A Systematic Review of the Literature.” Journal of Youth Development, vol. 13, no. 1-2, 2018, pp. 201–215., doi:10.5195/jyd.2018.551.
[8] Sendak, “Positive Youth Development at Camps for Youth with Chronic Illness: A Systematic Review of the Literature.”
[9] Crip Camp: a Disability Revolution. Directed by Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht. Higher Ground Productions, 2020
[10] Fegan-Bohm, Kelly et al. “Camp for Youth With Type 1 Diabetes.” Current diabetes reports vol. 16,8 (2016): 68. doi:10.1007/s11892-016-0759-x
Hello there! My name is Eleanor, and I will be starting to write for Connected in Motion’s Fresh Air Blog, so I thought I would introduce myself!
I recently joined CIM as a Content Intern. As someone who has been a fan of CIM programming for a little while now, I’m very excited to join the community. After months of Instagram stalking, I finally attended my first event this past spring, the U.S. Virtual Slipstream (at least one good thing came out of this pandemic!). I learned so much from the event, and I’m eager to be a part of the behind-the-scenes work at CIM.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of four. I went to diabetes camp for a few summers as a kid, but failed to find a diabetes community after that. CIM has provided a place for me to connect with other adults with diabetes.
I was born and raised in the Boston area and this year, I graduated from the University of Toronto where I studied Biochemistry. In the fall, I will be attending graduate school for public health. My professional interests lie in studying how the environment affects human health. I hope for my CIM content to incorporate elements of scientific research and public health advocacy. I’ve also become interested in understanding diabetes history lately, so you will see some blog posts about that! In addition to sharing personal thoughts, I would also like to shed a light on real experiences of people from all walks of life living with diabetes, expanding the narrative typically present in the media.
In my free time, I love listening to music and podcasts! I also really enjoy being outside, especially close to water. You can often find me on a stroll with my dog catching up on the latest tunes.
