Athens mom claims daughter with disability excluded from summer camp
By Rachel Aragon
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ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — An Athens mother claims her daughter is being excluded from a county-run summer camp because of her disability and now, she wants to make summer more inclusive for all families.
Usree Bhattacharya said her daughter Kalika is a bright 8-year-old who happens to have Rett syndrome, a rare neurological disorder.
Kalika communicates with the help of an eye-tracking device and is bilingual.
But her mom said one of the things she can’t do is join an Athens-Clarke County Summer Camp.
“It’s about my daughter having access to enriching summer programming, new people, new opportunities,” said Usree.
In February, Usree emailed Athens-Clarke County saying she was looking at summer camps for her daughter who lacks functional hand use and uses a wheelchair. In the email, she asked about a policy that she had heard about that would exclude her daughter from joining a county-run summer camp.
A county employee emailed her back saying, “Campers are required to be independent with feeding and toileting.”
When Usree couldn’t find the policy, the county wrote back saying, “Camper expectations are relayed annually in the guardian handbook which is revised annually and is released the week of camp enrollment.”
“Now if a child like my daughter requires accommodations, you can’t wait until the week before to find out what the policy is,” Usree said.
The county website states non-residents can register for summer camp.
Usree wants to know why children from outside the county can register for summer camps, but her daughter can’t.
“Why is it that my tax dollars can’t go towards my own child? It just seems so inequitable, so deeply unfair,” she said.
The county said the leisure services summer camp handbook for guardians is available through the summer camps page and notes that participants will need to be able to independently feed themselves and use the restroom without assistance.
“While staff is sympathetic to the issues surrounding inclusivity, the Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Department is not equipped with either the facilities or staff to be able to address toileting needs or feeding assistance for any child, regardless of their abilities,” Athens-Clarke County Unified Government said in a statement to Atlanta News First. “However, all programs and camps frequently include children with a variety of physical and cognitive disabilities as long as they can meet the requirement of feeding and toileting independently.”
Said Usree: “They’re citizens, just like everybody else, she’s a Clark County resident, she’s a Clarke County student. She should have access to summer programming.”
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