CHARLESTON — When Matthew Knapp was 2, his mother learned that his minimal speaking and lack of excitement wasn’t because his twin brother Mark talked and got thrilled enough for the both of them.

In July 2006, Matthew, now 9, was diagnosed with high-functioning pervasive development disorder, a type of autism spectrum disorder.

Like most mothers, Bonita Knapp didn’t want to label her son or make him feel different from his peers, she said. Seeking therapy for Matthew became her top concern. At age 3, Matthew attended Children’s Therapy Clinic in Charleston for the first time. He has seen autism consultant Susannah Vitaglione every week since.

“Susannah is wonderful. She cares about each child individually,” said Knapp, of Belle. “It doesn’t matter what their diagnosis is, she has a love for them.”

Two years ago, Vitaglione, who has worked with children with autism spectrum disorders for 14 years, decided she wanted to start a social-skills camp for children in Charleston.

Several parents approached her about starting a camp because their children couldn’t attend larger camps, for fear that their child “would be too overwhelmed,” Vitaglione said.

Discovery Camp is open to children with Asperger’s Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, high-functioning autism, nonverbal learning disorders and other social learning difficulties.

“They were looking for a fun experience for their kids during the summer that would be more social time,” Vitaglione said. “For most of these kids, social interactions are stressful, but friendships and games shouldn’t be stressful, they should be fun.”

During the first week of camp, the 9- to 12-year-olds played group games that related to the Zones of Regulation. “Zones” represent sensory exploration: If a child says he is in the blue zone, he is tired; green, feeling good; yellow, anxious. In the red zone, they’re out of control.

At St. Matthews Episcopal Church in South Hills — where Discovery Club is held each week — kids moved from one sensory station in the room to the next. At each station, children rated how the sensory activity made them feel.

Stations ranged from jumping rope, sitting in a beanbag chair covered in a weighted blanket, listening to soft music on headphones and playing with Silly Putty.

Another activity required the children to draw a face with an emotion on a paper plate.

One child, Jeannette, held up a squiggly drawn face with big lips. The other children asked the young girl for a hint.

“You feel like this when you win a million dollars,” Jeannette said. A few hands shot up quickly and she called on another child who responded correctly: “the green zone.”

Vitaglione added a new curriculum this year to make learning more approachable and fun, she said.

Social Thinking incorporates “Superflex” and “Think Social” curricula, which have been proven to help children learn the essential building blocks for understanding their own social behaviors and to relate better to others, Vitaglione said.

Superflex is a superhero who constantly battles the “Team of Unthinkables.” Those guys include “Blurt-out Bob,” who interrupts everyone, “Mean Jean,” who is critical of everyone and “Rockbrain,” who doesn’t problem-solve.

For the Knapp family, the Superflex curriculum is useful even at home. Knapp said she occasionally will ask Matthew if he is “being a Rockbrain today,” which “snaps him out of it” and helps him focus, she said.

“The cartoon idea sounds goofy for anyone that doesn’t deal with these types of children, but this is the reason why there are problems: They are not flexible kids; they think very literal,”’ Knapp said. “Matthew knows there’s something different about him, but with ... a club with other children like him, he is able to relate better to the other children there.”

Leah Newby’s son, 5-year-old Hudson, likes the “Superflex” concept because superheroes are a language he can understand, she said.

Attending his first Discovery Camp, Hudson has severe ADHD that prevents him from being social in group settings, Newby said.

Hudson, like Matthew, enjoys having friends at Discovery Camp who he can relate to, his mother said.

“The biggest thing (about Discovery Camp) is he’s feeling socially accepted for who he is,” Newby said. “At a school setting, they can be the outcast kids who are ostracized for their behaviors. At Discovery Camp, their behaviors can be corrected in a group setting without being made fun of.”

At the first Discovery Camp, in 2010, six children enrolled. Today, Vitaglione hosts two camp sessions in June and three in July, all based on age.