Talisman Camps and Programs, which has been offering accredited summer camp opportunities for special-needs children for more than 25 years, is currently accepting applications from families of children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or other types of learning differences.

Talisman offers three camps for children with ADHD, other learning differences, and related conditions:

Discovery is a two-week program for children between the ages of 8 and 11 who have ADHD or learning disabilities or who may be experiencing social anxiety. Discovery's activity-packed schedule and 1:2.5 staff-camper ratio allows campers to have a positive experience in a safe and supportive camping environment. Activities include rock climbing, rafting, visiting the nature center, and several other memorable experiences.

Foundations is a coeducational summer program for children ages 9 to 13 who have been diagnosed with learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and mild behavior issues. Activities during the Foundations camp include backpacking, rock and tree climbing, whitewater rafting, high ropes course, swimming, nature studies, and arts and crafts. Full-camp special events include 50's, 60's, and 70's dances, a carnival, Olympics, Backwards Day, Grand Council campfires, and a final banquet.

Explorers offers younger teens (ages 12 to 14) the opportunity to complete seven days of hiking on the Blue Ridge Mountains during a unique Pioneer immersion experience. Throughout the trip, instructors guide campers in improving social interaction skills and behavior management. Wilderness skills learned during the Explorers camp include flint and bow-drill fire-starting; making cordage, spoons, and bowls; storing water in gourds; and tracking.

For more information about these and other educational opportunities for exceptional students, visit www.talismancamps.com or call 888.458.8226.

Labels: summer_camp, social_skills, Attention_Deficit_Hyperactivity_Disorder, anxiety, learning_disabilites

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

A new government-sponsored study found that children with anxiety disorders improved the most when treated with a popular antidepressant along with psychotherapy.

Scientists from the National Institutes of Health studied 488 children ages 7 to 17 years old who have anxiety disorders. One fourth of the children took Sertraline (Zoloft); one fourth took Sertraline along with psychotherapy; one fourth had psychotherapy alone; and one fourth took placebos only. After three months, the children in the combined treatment group had the best results, with 81 percent showing improvement. In the therapy-only group, 60 percent improved, compared to a 55 percent improvement rate in the drug-alone group. Among the children who took placebos, 24 percent improved.

Anxiety affects about 20 percent of American children. Some become so tense that they will not leave their homes, refuse to sleep alone, etc. They can develop phobias and severe social anxiety, which can limit their participation in class discussions and other situations. "Improvement" in the NIH study meant that the children were able to do things they had refused to do before, such as sleep by themselves.

This study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Labels: medications, depression, anxiety

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

More teachers and school administrators should familiarize themselves with Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder (OCD), an anxiety-causing disease that affects between 1% and 2% of all children.

Dr. Kathleen Rupertus, a specialist in OCD, spoke before the OCD National Conference this week in Dallas, Texas. She said that the disease is often not diagnosed until adulthood. Persons with the disorder often wash their hands hundreds of times a day, chant to themselves, count things, and otherwise engage in repetitive behaviors. Unless a parent informs his child's teacher about the condition, it usually goes undetected and causes the child undue suffering. For example, children with OCD may constantly rearrange their pens or do their homework thirty times over. They usually have trouble making friends.

Worried your child has an undiagnosised learning disability? Learn more at LearningDisabilitiesInfo.com.

Labels: research, anxiety, disorder

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments