The days are already getting warmer and longer, and soon the year will be over. During this time of year, many parents begin thinking about sending their children to summer camp. If your child has ADHD, there are a few things you can do to make his camp experience enjoyable.

An Aug. 7 article on healthcentral.com provided the following tips to ensure that your child has an enjoyable summer camp experience:

If your child already knows at least one other child at camp before they go, it will increase his comfort level. Ask the camp for a list of local campers, so you can contact the parents. You can either have your child talk on the phone with the camper, set up a play date with one child, or set up a group play date.

You might want to consider doing this with a day camp as well as sleepaway camp. ...

The camp director should meet with your child before camp starts. If he or she is reluctant to for some reason, or too busy, find another camp.

Click here to learn more about summer camps for children with ADHD.

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During the summer, children often forget much of what they learned in school. For kids with ADHD, this can be especially problematic.

To help prevent this summer backslide, educational psychologist Brent Cooper offered the following advice in the July 4 edition of Palm Springs newspaper The Desert Sun:

Parents ought to spend at least part of the summer reinforcing the skills learned in school from the previous year. Workbooks are simple tools to keep their minds sharp. They can be purchased at educational stores. Libraries also have lots of academic materials available.

Students may require more individualized academic instruction in a specific area. Practicing math skills, working on comprehension, and drilling vocabulary can make a big difference during the summer months.

Parents may also want to consider supportive learning opportunities such as summer camps for ADHD kids. These programs let children brush up on their skills and while also learn how to be more responsible, organized, and efficient.

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In response to a parent's question about the wisdom of allowing her 16-year-old daughter to stop taking medication for her Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder during summer vacation, educational psychologist Brent Cooper cited concerns about safety and socializations. The exchange was published in the June 6 edition of the Palm Springs, Calif., newspaper The Desert Sun:

In the summer, even if things seem OK at home, an ADHD symptom like impulsivity could cause your teenage daughter more difficulties with her peers, social situations and safety than you realize.

Dr. Daniel J. Fitzgerald III, a Palm Desert psychiatrist, said, "It's proven that teenagers with ADHD who take their meds have a much lower rate of car accidents than their peers with ADHD who don't take their medication. During the summer when your child is biking, skateboarding, and around pools and boats, safety is a big concern. It's only logical that a child or teen who's not distracted and is paying good attention to what they're doing will have fewer accidents."

"No matter what you decide," Cooper wrote to the parent, "you must talk to your youngster's pediatrician or psychiatrist before stopping any medication that's been prescribed."

Echoing Cooper's advice, Molly Shannon-Blake, MSW, of Talisman Camps in North Carolina, cautions parents against allowing their children to take an ADHD medication vacation if the children will be attending summer camp or a similar program.

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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

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This year's summer camps will offer more travel to more exotic places, more community service, more career-oriented programs, more academics, and more for ages 11 to 14 years, according to a new report from a camp advisory service.

Carey Rivers, director of "Tips on Trips and Camps," reports that programs in 2008 will range from going to India to build schools, career internships on college campuses, learning unusual languages like Arabic in foreign countries, and traveling to places like Madagascar or El Salvador. The camps are designing more such programs for middle school students.

Ms. Rivers said that another trend is "gap year camps." These are yearlong programs for students who have just completed high school and want to take a year off for travel and adventure before entering college.

Camp Huntington is a special needs camps for boys and girls. Located in upstate New York, Camp Huntington serves campers with Learning and Developmental Disabilities, ADD/HD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Apsperger's, PDD, and other special needs.

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Many parents of kids with ADHD are hesitant about medication, but don't know if there are any alternatives. One possibility is a summer camp program designed specifically for kids with ADHD.

"Because the summer months, when school lets out, break the structure, pace and expectations of daily living, children with ADHD do not perform well in summer months. Leaving an ADHD child at home, during the summer, can lead to maladaptive behavior and often results in a difficult transition back into the academic setting in the fall. Finding a summer camp that is specifically designed for ADHD children is important to keeping structure in your child's life."

Separation anxiety is not uncommon in ADHD children, particularly if they've never been away from home before. Expect this and be prepared to reassure you child. An appropriately structured summer camp can result in increased emotional and behavioral maturity.

Camp Huntington special needs summer camps offer programs for children with ADHD, Asperger's, and Autism. Find a complete list of summer camps at SummerCampsInfo.com.

Labels: summer_camp, structure, memory

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