Justin is attending  “compassion camp” this week. Compassion Camp is our church’s version of vacation bible school. Each day this week, he goes for a few hours to learn songs, hear stories, do art work and play on the playground. 

We had high hopes for the week. After all, these are people who have known Justin since *literally* before he was born. They had made plans to accommodate him, and to help access the full range of things that were available. The camp director (who is also a church staffer and a dear personal friend) even set up a sensory area for Justin complete with space puzzles and toys. He had his headphones in case it got loud. We spent time talking to Justin, and Barb even made him a card with his transitions listed so he knew what would happen when.

Despite these things being in place, Justin had a rough first day. He was frustrated and angry. He yelled and ran away and threw a fit and generally behaved in a way that wasn’t useful to him or anyone else. I had to come get him and bring him home. It was all just kind of a mess.

That happens to all of us sometimes.