The mother of an HIV-positive child is suing the day camp she says turned her 12-year-old son away due to his illness.

Attorney Howard Sherwin says his client?s son, then 11, was not allowed to attend a one-week basketball camp at Pomona?s Deer Mountain Day Camp due to his HIV status.

The attorney claims the camp nurse contacted the boy?s doctor to gauge the likelihood of the boy transmitting the disease through casual contact and the sharing of pool water. The doctor apparently informed the nurse that there was no risk of the disease spreading. However, the boy and his mother claim they received a call from the camp?s director informing them the boy could not attend the program.

The camp is affiliated with the American Camp Association. The ACA states it does not discriminate against HIV-positive children.

The camp?s attorney says Deer Mountain Day Camp has an excellent record of working with children who have medical problems. The camp?s representatives say the claims are false and that Deer Mountain will be vindicated in court.