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Comments
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6/27/25 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
I see a lot of the reviews on this site are from many years ago. I don’t know what Talisman was like 10-15 years ago, but my daughter has been going for 5 years and the camp is amazing! They are very diligent with medication. My daughter has a great time with the activities. The cabins are air conditioned which is a big plus. Before camp, the parents fill out paperwork about their camper and the things they would like their camper to work on, ex. daily living, socializing, personal hygiene, etc. At the end of the sessions, your program director goes over all the skill that they worked on and how well your camper did and what they still need work on. I receive all the letters that my camper sends. They even allow campers to write letter that they scan and email to us everyday. The staff are highly trained. I just dropped my daughter off and the staff ration for her cabin was 2 counselors for 6 campers. There are campers and counselors from all over the world. It has been a huge blessing
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1/23/24 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Once upon a lifetime ago I attended Talisman as a "break" from my usual overnight camp. The concept is great, the execution is poor. Staff would "restrain" individuals who were disagreeable or they thought were "escalating" even if they were not and cause bruising. Actively stopped kids from eating actual meals if they didn't "hike" the trail first thing in the morning and were only given peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Too many kids to counselors ratio and the counselors were poorly trained and barely more than teens themselves. Not recommended. There are other, better camps for AuDHD kids out there. With better programs. Better facilities, and far far better training.
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7/6/23 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
One week notice they canceled my son camp. It was a staffing issue. Poor planning equals loss of a great summer opportunity for my special needs son. This short notice has created significant issues like medication (as it was shipped to the camp), family vacation planning and most importantly as special needs son who is hurt about losing a positive life experience.
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1/10/20 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
This camp is extraordinary! The staff is incredible, the activities exciting and challenging, the techniques and methods they use are imaginative and thought provoking. Our child has attended the camp for 5 years and is set up for this coming summer. It has been amazing every single year. He loves it there. We can't say enough good things!!!!
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11/7/18 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Great program. My son has been there 3 summers already, and is asking to go back again.
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1/24/18 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
My wife and I were looking for a summer experience for our son with aspergers, he is high functioning but needed some help socially. We chose Talisman after reading reviews and talking to the camp prior to enrolling him. While there, he felt like there was significant bullying/cursing/and unacceptable behavior in the cabin: what I would consider unacceptable living conditions with a boy in his cabin. The “counselor” did nothing to help my son deal with the situation, he felt trapped at the camp with no recourse. He wrote 5-6 letters where he discussed the situation, and asked that we come “rescue” him. We never got a single letter...we called to check in on him 3 times and every time we were told he was doing great, no complaints. When we picked him up he was hurt and felt we abandoned him because of our lack of response to the letters. The camp said the mail “got lost”. Lots of talks with a psychologist to deal with this experimce experience...Avoid this camp. No more space to write
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*
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8/18/15 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
This was my first year on staff and I can honestly say that Talisman was a life changing experience, not just for me but for all of the campers as well. I saw so many campers grow and gain skills and confidence in themselves that they didn't have when they first got to camp, and many of my campers said that they couldn't wait to come back next year! The experiences that Talisman offers to their campers are one of a kind, and I truly believe that a better summer camp for children with Autism and ADHD does not exist. The staff, the food, the facilities, and the experiences are all fantastic and you could not ask for a better summer than a summer spent at Talisman. I loved it as a staff member and I can only imagine how much better it would be as a kid!
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*
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8/12/15 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
As a first year counselor this past summer, the staff facilities and delicious food made me feel right at home! But what really made a major impact on my life was the positive experiences the kids had. I was privileged to witness campers make their first ever friends, to grow more confidence, become "outdoorsmen", and simply have a blast. Talisman gives these kids a summer they will never forget and skills they can use for a lifetime. Send your child to Talisman!
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6/5/15 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
i got back from this camp, and once again, the food policy was horrible. If you wanted seconds on one thing you had to eat everything on your plate, no matter how bad it was. The food wasn't even that good and tasted like a bunch of garbage. Everyone was mean to me, both the counselors and the campers and there was this one camper in my group was so mean to me all the time and he beat me up. I told the counselors, but they didn't ever believe what I said. I sent a lot of letters to my parents, but most of them didn't even send. I wasn't even meant to come to this camp because I don't have autism. But my parents think i do and they sent me here. Overall, horrible experience, mean people, and awful food that tasted like garbage. I never want to come here again. The End
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SYSTEM: 2 positive duplicate or disallowed ratings automatically removed |
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5/7/15 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
My son had an awesome time at camp. He came back a changed boy. His manners seemed to come out of no where. He was eager to tell me and my wife all of his experiences. He really seemed to connect with the staff and they were all very helpful during the first and last days of camp. Our son can't wait to go back.
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4/14/15 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
As camp nurse for 2014, I witnessed the camp dog attack 2 other dogs and bite several staff. Beware of the camp dog!
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11/11/13 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
Talisman was an awesome experience for my son. The staff and everyone involved were super nice. They understood what my son needed and went above and beyond with any special requests I had. They challenged my son to try new activities and foods. Awesome overall experience and can't wait to return next summer.
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8/8/13 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
The first year I went to camp, it was a wonderful experience. Not perfect, but I met some awesome people and lost some weight. The second year, well...the staff was incredibly rude, the four letters I sent to my parents were never even mailed, my counselors were incredibly unprepared when we took the hiking trip in the woods (we didn't have enough food to last 6 days, so we had to resort to eating the remaining peanut butter out of the jars) and it was obvious that our counselors smoked because they disappeared for at least an hour every day (as a non-smoker, this bothered me). I won't mention names, but one of my counselors constantly put us down and made us go without talking for 15 minutes whenever somebody called group (meaning that we gather around in a circle and discuss a disagreement between a camper and either another camper or counselor and look for a solution). So overall, my experience was eh...if camping is your thing, go for it. If not, don't bother.
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6/28/13 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
My son just got home from this camp. Their food policy is HORRIBLE. In order to get 'seconds' they must eat 'everything' on their plate, even if they don't like it. I emailed the staff 4 times and left cell phone message 2 times without a response. My son emailed me back but I never got ONE of his 3 emails. Alos, they didn't do a lot of the things listed on the web site. Granted, he was there for 13 days instead of the 3-4 weeks but a lot of the really fun things (zip line, repelling, ropes course, carnival day) didn't happen. He lost 10 pounds in 13 days (and really it was only 11 1/3 days since I picked him up at 9:00 am the last day and they only feed him dinner the first day. They didn't offer reasonable alternatives when he didn't like a food (like peanut butter which is apparently a staple for many of the lunches.) Overall, horrible first camp experiance for him and me.
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4/4/13 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
Camp Talisman is great for kids with autism and ADHD
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4/30/08 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
This camp is fabulous for children with AD/HD and High Functioning Aspergers. Also they offer an Academic program for children with LD. They are the most highly trained staff you can find. The counselors really care. My son said that this is the first camp where "The kids are like me and the counselors really understand me". The came back with tremendous growth in confidence. His social skills improved dramatically. The environment is calm and clean. The activities were excellent. The experience was just terrific and my son is going back again this summer. Last summer he was signed up for one session and when I went to pick him up he said he didn't want to have to wait a whole year to go back so he decided he wanted to stay another session. This summer 2008 he will go for two sessions and is really looking forward to going back. I can't say enough wonderful things about this incredible camp. Your child will grow more independent with greater self awareness after this camp.
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