May 27, 2026

The Science — and Soul — of YMCA Camp Independence

"When I started working at camp, I was a 20-year-old undergraduate working in Dr. Holmbeck's lab. Never did I think — fast forward 18 years — that I'd be directing it. It’s a very sweet, full-circle moment." That's Dr. Jaclyn Papadakis — pediatric psychologist, researcher, and the new director of the Independence Workshop Program at YMCA Camp Independence.  

Where It All Began 
Camp Independence has been changing lives for a long time. In 1989, Dr. David McLone, a neurosurgeon at what is now Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, launched the first Chicagoland sleep-away camp for youth and young adults with spina bifida. Back then, it was called Camp Ability. In 2005, Dr. Grayson Holmbeck — a clinical psychologist Emeritus at Loyola University Chicago — joined forces with Dr. McLone, and the camp's mission deepened. In 2009, Camp Independence found its home at YMCA Camp Duncan and became a funded research project through the Kiwanis Neuroscience Research Foundation, setting the stage for something far bigger than a week of swimming, archery and sunshine. 

Over the years, the camp has evolved. "The Independence Workshop programming at YMCA Camp Independence has become more structured," says Dr. Holmbeck, "whereby we involve counselors and an interventionist who run the programming all while staying at the camp for the entire week.” This intentional, research-backed structure — woven seamlessly into the fun of camp — became the heartbeat of what makes Camp Independence so powerful. 

Now, after nearly two decades of shaping the program, Dr. Holmbeck has retired as Professor Emeritus from Loyola University Chicago, passing the torch to the person perhaps best suited to carry it forward: someone who first came to this work as an undergraduate researcher in his lab — Dr. Papadakis.

More Than a Great Time (Though It Is Absolutely That) 
Let's be honest: Camp Independence is also just really, really fun.  

Campers swim, make tie-dye shirts, stay up late with friends, and (especially when cheesy eggs are on the menu!) eat very well. Counselors travel from across the globe — including Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, and the UK — to be part of camp. The facility at Camp Duncan was built for campers who have spina bifida: accessible bathrooms, a spacious great room, air conditioning, a sunny deck, and a cabin where every bottom bunk belongs to a camper. It's a place where accessibility isn't an accommodation — it's just how things are done. 

But underneath all that joy is something remarkable. Over the 18 years that the Independence Workshop has been graciously funded by the Kiwanis Neuroscience Research Foundation, Dr. Holmbeck and his team have produced research findings that make a compelling case: this isn't just a great camp. It's a program that measurably changes lives.

“Thanks to the Kiwanis Neuroscience Research Foundation, Camp Independence isn’t just fun — it’s a place where young people who have spina bifida gain confidence, skills, and independence that last long after summer ends, and this has been documented with research findings” said Jason Kuffel, Executive Director of YMCA Camp Independence. 

What the Research Actually Shows 
Here's what years of studying campers — before, during, and after their time at Camp Independence — has revealed: 

  • More years at camp means more independence. Campers who returned year after year showed steady, meaningful improvements in taking responsibility for their own medical care. The gains were real and consistent, especially in managing health tasks independently. 
  • The camp program delivers results. A structured week of goal setting, group learning, and daily counselor check-ins lead to measurable improvements in independence, health-care management, and personal goal achievement. Campers and parents both reported the difference. 
  • Parent mindset matters — a lot. Kids make the biggest gains in managing their own health when parents expect them to reach their goals. On the flip side, viewing a child as fragile tended to work against that growth. 
  • Campers are resilient problem-solvers. Youth who have spina bifida tend to tackle stress head-on — more so, research found, than youth with other chronic conditions. Camp Independence helps build on that strength. 
  • The whole community benefits from inclusion. Dr. Papadakis puts it beautifully: "Some of the camp counselors have been young adults who have spina bifida. Being with other individuals who have spina bifida — who are out in the world, who have their own dreams, and who are pursuing those dreams — can expand campers' ideas of what's possible." 

A Full Circle Moment — For All of Us 
Dr. Papadakis now leads the Independence Workshop programming through her role at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago where she serves as a Pediatric Psychologist and Assistant Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Her work centers on psychosocial functioning, medical decision-making, and helping young people with complex medical conditions to navigate the transition to adulthood. In other words: she was made for this. 

That's the through-line — from Dr. McLone's first camp in 1989, to Dr. Holmbeck's decades of research-backed programming, to Dr. Papadakis stepping into the director's role with the wisdom of someone who has loved this place for nearly half her life. The science is real. The results are documented. And the mission — helping young people discover exactly what they're capable of — has never been in better hands. 

Camp Independence is ready for what comes next. And if history is any guide, what comes next is going to be something pretty amazing.