Samuel Habib is a lot of things.
He’s a traveler and sports fan, a proud member of baseball’s Red Sox Nation. He’s the Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker of The Ride Ahead and My Disability Roadmap. He’s a son, brother, and friend.
Now 26 years old, he’s an adult living with a very rare genetic neurological condition.
Though the diagnosis is part of his identity, Sam refuses to be defined or deterred by its challenges. His specific GNAO1 neurodevelopment disorder has impacted his ability to walk and speak, but he’s always moving, always communicating. He’s confident, curious, and thought-provoking, all while exuding an infectious understanding that anything is possible.
“If I had the chance, I would never take away my disability,” says Sam. “It’s made me who I am—and I like who I am.”
His attitude has been cultivated atop a strong foundation of support from family, friends, and a community that enables belief—and never underestimates.
In 2012, Double H Ranch’s summer camp became a critical part of Sam’s community, and remains a beloved part of his ongoing story.
“[Double H] was such an important part of my life growing up,” says Sam, who lives in Concord, New Hampshire. “Their work makes it possible for kids and young adults like me with serious health challenges and disabilities to go to camp. The staff and counselors all had high expectations for us and made everything fun and adventurous. I felt totally free and accepted for who I am. Nobody judged me. Nobody underestimated me.”
Starting at age 12, Sam attended Double H Ranch for seven years. From his cautious first arrival to his final year, he formed a bond with the campers, counselors, and environment that surrounded him. He considers the upstate New York camp as his special place, a locale he feels connected to in a very unique way.
Attending his first summer session was a big step to take for a middle schooler. Looking back at the experience more than a decade later, Sam does so with gratitude, acknowledging the growth it’s led to—and could lead to for others.
“Camp gave me a chance to know that I would be okay being away from my parents for almost a week,” he says. “I had never been on my own for that long before, so it gave me a lot more confidence in myself and made me feel more independent. That’s a really important experience for young people who need a lot of support from their families.”
Sam’s confidence didn’t come from simply attending camp. It was built through the interactions with his fellow campers, the opportunities for adventure, and the support he received as he found the courage to take risks while he was at Double H Ranch. In the Habib family, they’re fond of referring to the “dignity of risk.” Facing the risks in front of you is important, and overcoming each can transform who you are and what you’re capable of.
For Sam, many activities at Double H Ranch presented risk—but that’s one of the reasons he loved it.
“Taking risks makes me feel proud, powerful, bold,” says Sam. “I remember that I was encouraged to take the risk of doing the zip line at Double H my second year at camp when I was 12. I was so proud to tell my parents about it. That year, I had to spend a night in [Paul’s] Body Shop to get medical treatment, and as soon as I got out, I waved and said, ‘See ya,’ and went right back to the zip line. I hope all camps encourage the same dignity of risk like Double H does.”
At Double H Ranch, campers can afford to take risks because safe fun is prioritized in every aspect of the camp’s framework—from inclusive activities and accessible facilities to highly trained staff and onsite medical personnel. Each session of summer camp is equipped with a team of experienced nurses and physicians who are available 24 hours a day and specialize in campers’ diagnoses. There’s also Paul’s Body Shop, an on-site medical facility named in honor of Double H Ranch co-founder (and car fanatic) Paul Newman, where campers can receive any needed treatments, like infusions or central line care, during their stay. Though more often than not, nurses can be seen administering medications across camp at places like the archery range or the ropes course. It’s a testament to the belief that chronic and serious illnesses should not keep kids from experiencing the joy of childhood.
Together, these services are dedicated to supporting the health, happiness, and risk-taking of every camper, all while assuring parents at home that their child is in the hands of highly capable care.
Sam credits this care with helping him develop into the man he is today.
With 2024’s award-winning The Ride Ahead, Sam has joined Dan, his filmmaker father, to make a truly remarkable film about navigating young adulthood with a disability. The film offers Sam’s poignant perspective of his diagnosis, his life, and the supportive influences—like Double H Ranch—that have shaped his identity so far. Those who view the film will glimpse moments of him as a child at camp, as well an adult Sam permanently honoring his camp memories by getting a tattoo on screen.
In an effort to share the importance of camp among the disability community, the Habib family has made the film available free of charge to nonprofit organizations and summer camps across the country. It’s a generous act that expands the impact of Sam’s camp experience and gives back to a community so important to his life.
The support Sam found at Double H Ranch made an incredible impact on who he’s become, and the meaningfulness of this connection continues to propel his quest to help others find their own transformative place.
“I will pass along the advice I got from one of my mentors in the film: You are not alone. Find your community,” says Sam. “That was powerful advice because Double H Ranch has become a very important community for me over the past 14 years.”
To donate to keep kids unstoppable click here.