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Building Confidence and Resilience in Teens

By Adam Simon | August 30, 2023 | Comments Off on Building Confidence and Resilience in Teens
Teen in unicorn custume

I’m not an expert on confidence building or on how to increase resilience in teenagers, but I’ve been surrounded by teenagers enough over the last two decades to gain some insights of my own. I can tell you from personal experience I’ve seen teens have transformational experiences while living in a community with their peers. …

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Telling Ourselves a Different Story 

By Adam Simon | October 6, 2021 | Comments Off on Telling Ourselves a Different Story 
Camper Performs at Talent Show

Learning from disappointment and frustration When a camper wants to call home after only being there for a few days, they usually ask their parents to come and get them. They are tired from walking; they don’t love the rustic camping lifestyle; they miss their cell phones or all of the above. Usually, parents reluctantly…

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Anything But Typical: Celebrating Neurodiversity at Odyssey Teen Camp

By Georgios Tsangaris | April 28, 2021 | Comments Off on Anything But Typical: Celebrating Neurodiversity at Odyssey Teen Camp
Georgios Tsangaris with dog

Too often, young people are punished for being different. As a neurodivergent person, my teenage years were punctuated by pressures to conform. Teachers and authority figures weren’t interested in how my mysterious brain worked or how fully I felt my feelings.  They were interested in how well I would do well on standardized tests and…

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How My Twice Exceptional (2e) Teen Became a Happy Camper

By Adam Simon | November 26, 2019 | Comments Off on How My Twice Exceptional (2e) Teen Became a Happy Camper
Fin wearing a grass suit

A mom recently wrote about her son Fen’s experience at camp. He’s been coming to OTC for the past five years. Fen is one of the most original, interesting, and hilarious campers who has come to camp. He’s not always the easiest, and when he first came to camp, he seemed to want to go…

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Top Ten Things I’ve Learned About 2e (Twice Exceptional) Teens

By Adam Simon | October 14, 2019 | Comments Off on Top Ten Things I’ve Learned About 2e (Twice Exceptional) Teens
Adam Simon with two teens at camp

I’ve been learning about twice exceptionality (2e) from some moms whose 2e teens come to camp. They are great advocates for their children and all 2e kids. I’m particularly grateful to Kim Pine, who wrote an informative post about her 2e son’s camp experience, and Maratea Cantarella from Twice Exceptional Children’s Advocacy (TECA), who have…

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Shyness and Fear as an Invitation to The Great Unknown

By Adam Simon | March 29, 2019 | Comments Off on Shyness and Fear as an Invitation to The Great Unknown
Young teen feeling inspired and joyful

Every month I receive calls from concerned parents whose teenagers have been spending too much time alone, having trouble making friends, seeming irritable, etc. It’s easy to understand why parents get worried. They see their wonderful, kind, sensitive, vulnerable, and generally very shy teenagers withdrawing. Tending the fire I’m pretty sure teenagers have always been…

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The Link Between Technology & Social Anxiety: Why Face-to-Face Engagement is So Important

By Adam Simon | March 28, 2019 | Comments Off on The Link Between Technology & Social Anxiety: Why Face-to-Face Engagement is So Important
Adam and amy in discussion video thumbnail

Adam Simon continues his video series, discussion with teen therapist, Amy Frisch. In this segment they discuss the link between technology and social anxiety in teenagers. Amy offers some great insights and an interesting perspective on the subject. Watch the short video.

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How Anxiety Can Help Teens Practice For Life Challenges

By Adam Simon | February 27, 2019 | Comments Off on How Anxiety Can Help Teens Practice For Life Challenges
Adam and Lauren discuss how anxiety can be a teacher - Video thumbnail

  Getting to the other side of anxiety In this short video Lauren Muriello, LPC of Well Being Therapy Center, talks about how we all experience anxiety and that it is a natural, healthy part of the human condition. This reminds me of I a quote I saw recently that read …  Using fear as…

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Do Cell Phones Belong at Summer Camp?

By Adam Simon | December 27, 2018 | Comments Off on Do Cell Phones Belong at Summer Camp?
Teens walk hand in hand across the main field.

The trauma of taking away kids’ “magic phones” at camp I know that’s a little dramatic, but that’s how it feels watching kids hand their cell phones over to their parents when they are dropped off at camp. I think I got that “magic phone” term from the comedian Norm McDonald (one of my favorites).…

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Let the Little Moments Happen – Staff Culture at Odyssey

By Adam Simon | March 24, 2018 | Comments Off on Let the Little Moments Happen – Staff Culture at Odyssey
Allie and friend

This blog post comes from one of our first-time counselors, Allie. While Allie had many years of camp experience, this was her first time at Odyssey Teen Camp—and as she describes, it totally changed her view of what camp could really be for campers and staff alike. Allie’s story At first, I didn’t know what…

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Find Out About Odyssey Teen Camp

A Non-Profit Overnight Summer Camp For Teens Ages 13-18
Located in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.

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