A Weekend That Changes Everything: Special Needs Family Camp at Whispering Winds

For many families, a weekend at camp is a simple pleasure. For the families who gather each year at Whispering Winds Camp and Conference Center in the Laguna Mountains, it is something harder to come by: a place where every member of the family belongs.

Whispering Winds, about an hour east of San Diego, has operated for 35 years as a nature retreat. But for one weekend annually, it becomes the only camp of its kind in Southern California—a program designed specifically for families raising children with special needs, where parents, special campers, and their typical siblings spend the weekend together as a complete family unit. This year marks the program's 10th anniversary.

The camp exists largely because of Stephanie Kiesel. A lawyer who came to the profession later in life, Kiesel spent years practicing public interest law and working alongside families navigating school systems, respite care, and legal challenges. She recognized that solving those problems, while necessary, wasn't enough. Recreation, community, and the experience of simply being a family together were needs going unmet. She helped build this camp to meet them.

Those who work alongside her describe a particular kind of leadership. She identifies what needs to be done and moves toward it. For the families who have attended since the beginning, the impact is concrete. David and Claudia Iola were among the founding families when their son Josh was 16. Ten years later, they still mark the weekend on the calendar. Josh, who is nonverbal, is known by name across the campgrounds. His father describes watching others see and understand his son—something this environment makes possible in a way few others do.

Central to the program's success is a corps of volunteers known as Special Buddies. These individuals are paired with campers for the weekend, allowing parents—some of whom have not left their child in another's care since birth—to trust a near-stranger with their most vulnerable family member. For families who have spent years managing needs too specific and too constant to hand off, that trust is not given lightly.

Andy Finch has been a Special Buddy since the program's first year. Over time, her husband and all four of their children joined her. Her son Tom has been paired with the same camper, Stephenson—now 29, who has autism—for years. What began as a weekend commitment has grown into a relationship that extends well past camp. Volunteer Nikki Cajuste, who has been connected to Whispering Winds for decades, only recently stepped into the Special Buddy role. She describes arriving nervous and leaving with what felt like an extended family.

The program has grown steadily, and those closest to it say the need continues to outpace its reach. What Stephanie Kiesel started a decade ago has become, for many families, an annual tradition—and for some, the one weekend a year where the weight of daily caregiving lifts just enough to make room for music, dancing, and the particular kind of joy that comes from being fully seen.