I wanted to ask if any parents here have sent their kids to camps for special needs children, and if so, how was their experience? My 5 year old son with autism is now old enough to go and even though part of me wants to send him and knows how great it would be for him to share in all the endless activities, the bigger part of me can't stop imagining the worst-case scenarios that no parent can stand to think about. Aside from our kids being our hearts, I think this feeling is extra strong because on top of knowing how vulnerable all little ones are, how much more so is that for the ones who don't have the capacity to protect themselves or even tell you what's going on. I guess I just want to hear from the ones who've had these same feelings and how they dealt with them, cause everytime I think I've made my mind up- I change it again. Any help?

I have a 6 yr old boy with autism. I have never sent him to a camp but and considering a day camp for a few weeks in the summer. Even that scares me. An overnight camp is out of the question. I don't let my 8yr old very mature daughter sleep over her friends houses. You never hear a parent of a child who has been s@xually abused say "yep we thought that guy was wierd but we trusted him with our child anyway" no they always say "He/she seemed so nice we trusted him." So there is no way I would let my son who is literally defenseless and can't even tell if something "bad" happened.
Not saying these camps are bad they can be a great experience for kids. But I am not comfortable with Sleepovers of anykind. MHO