AMESBURY — Alex Devlin is a nature fan, his mom said.
He has a strong interest in science and nature. He's a regular at the Joppa Flats Audubon Center in Newburyport.
So last spring, when Alex, 6, and his family attended the Frog Night Ponding at Camp Kent, he heard about the camp's Little Critters weeklong summer program and was eager to attend, Donna Devlin said.
"He was all excited," Devlin said. "He was going to be going with his friend, our neighbor across the street."
On his application form, his parents wrote that Alex has food allergies to peanuts and eggs. Shortly after they sent in the form and their fee, Devlin said they got a form letter back from town officials stating that Alex couldn't attend the summer camp because counselors are not allowed to administer EpiPens — emergency shots that can prevent an allergic reaction from taking a life.
Most schools, including Amesbury's, have policies to protect students with severe allergies. Recently, one father of an Amesbury Elementary School kindergartner called for a statewide change to require school buses to be equipped with EpiPens and for drivers to be trained on how to use them. The School Committee is reviewing the bus policy.
But summer camps pose a different challenge. Amesbury recreation director Kathy Crowley said yesterday the policy for summer camps is reviewed each year but that the main program it applies to is the park activities.
There are factors about the camps that make it difficult to control allergies — such as lunch time and the outdoor setting, she said.
"Last year the EpiPen policy was changed in the after-school programs, as we were able to get all staff trained as well as utilize the peanut-free tables and provide our own healthy snack. All of those things have made it safe for those with allergies to now come to the after-school program," Crowley wrote in an e-mail yesterday. "The summer program is a bit different. Although we could train all the staff in EpiPens, there are difficult controls with having an outdoor program that is spread out at the park. In addition, controlling the food and outdoor areas is extremely difficult with 300 children in one program, especially since what kids bring to the programs for snacks and lunches is predominantly peanut butter."
Devlin said she thinks the summer programs exclude campers with allergies.
"I'm disappointed, too, because there's another (fishing) camp that my son would love to do, too," Devlin said. "He's an avid fisherman. It feels discriminatory. These camps aren't available to all children of Amesbury."
Crowley said yesterday the policy is geared to the park program and said some accommodations could possibly be made for Camp Kent, but would need to be in place before the program begins. She urged anyone with questions to call and talk to her.
"This really only applies to the park program due to the size of the program," Crowley wrote in an e-mail. "All other programs are available."
Devlin's son now attends River Valley Charter School in Newburyport but attended Cashman School last year. The school district was proactive in how it handled food allergies, she said.
Food allergies could happen at any time — even if a child has eaten a food before, Devlin said. Or if a camper is stung by a bee and had never been before, he or she could have an undiagnosed allergy and go into shock.
For Jean McCarthy, it was the same situation last year. Her 7-year-old son has a nut allergy and wanted to attend the park program with his friends.
When she contacted the youth recreation office, McCarthy said, she was told her son's situation would be hard to control at the park because the camp is outdoors and that she should consider sending him to a private, indoor camp, McCarthy said.
Crowley said yesterday the policy is generally not to take kids with allergies at the park program because of the severity of food allergies — many kids with a nut allergy are affected even by the smell of nuts — and there would need to be factors established before the program would be suitable for them, she said. Some children may, if the parents feel comfortable, administer their own EpiPens, Crowley said.
McCarthy said they were told they could send their son to the park program if they signed a waiver saying the town wasn't responsible if something happened, but they couldn't send his EpiPen.
"I just couldn't send him without his EpiPen knowing there were going to be nuts there," McCarthy said.
McCarthy said she's looking now for a place to send her son this summer. She feels badly he can't go to the program with his friends. The options she is finding either cater to younger children or run all day — an option she doesn't want, she said.
"There's nothing out there even close to the same price (as Amesbury)," McCarthy said.
Crowley said staffers are evaluating the programs and determining if it will be safe for kids with allergies to attend.
"We just haven't decided if we can make the programs allergy-free or not, with the staff that we have and the setup that we have," she said.
