Allen A. Winebarger, Ph.D. presents
a programme that targets skill development in both ADD/ADHD children and
their parents in this month's ezine.
An
Attention Camp Program for the Real World
Prepared By:
Allen A. Winebarger, Ph.D.
Western Behavioral Consulting, LLC
Sept. 2000
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the
diagnosis used to describe children with developmentally inappropriate
levels of inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Unfortunately,
problems with attention and overactivity often occur with other problems,
such as oppositional behaviors. In fact, the reported rate of
"significant conduct problems" in children with ADHD is as high as 90%
(Hinshaw, 1987).
Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD) typically suffer more mental disorders, have significantly more
difficulty with social adjustment and academic achievement, and are more
likely to be a significant source of stress to parents and other family
members. In fact, children with ADHD tend to bring out negative,
controlling, directive, coercive and harsh behaviors in most of the significant
adults in their lives (such as parents, family members and teachers).
Given that families under significant life stress are more likely to be
at risk for a multitude of difficulties, community based interventions
targeting these populations are essential. Programs that target skill development
in both children and parents are currently viewed as having the most promise
in the treatment of ADHD, particularly when these approaches are paired
with appropriate medication interventions. A current focus within
the scientific community is on the process of meeting these goals through
the use of summer camp programs (Barkley, 1998).
One particularly useful summer camp treatment program
format is the summer day camp.
In fact, such a program is a key part of the current National
Institute of Mental Health-funded "Multimodal Treatment of Attention Deficit
Disorder" study, the largest government-funded child therapy study ever
conducted in the United States. Unfortunately, one of the major criticisms
of the NIMH project is that it costs too much to be used anywhere but academia—a
place where cost is not usually a factor. Unlike the NIMH project,
our Attention Camp is designed to be used in the “real world” where cost
effectiveness and efficiency are central to the provision of services to
children with ADHD and their families.
Western Behavioral Consulting's Attention Camp Program.
Younger Group Arts and Crafts |
Western Behavioral Consulting’s Attention Camp
Program (ACP) is a state of the art summer day-camp treatment program tailored
specifically to the needs of children and families coping with difficulties
associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD).
This process involves the entire family, and is based on scientifically
supported approaches to managing problems and difficulties related to ADHD
that have been found to be effective as "stand alone" approaches, as well
as effective additions to medication interventions. |
| Our particular program is designed to provide intervention
and teaching services to children ages 6-11, while simultaneously teaching
effective behavior management skills to at least one primary caregiver
per family. As the families move through approximately 70-80 hours
of professional contact, they receive services targeted at: 1) improving
social problem solving, academic, sports and behavioral skills of the participating
children; and 2) improving the supervision/monitoring, problem solving,
negotiation, teaching and limit setting skills of the parents. The
child and parent components of the camp are discussed briefly below. |
Dr Al helps with social skills building |
Child Program:
Time out for teachers Olivia and Cherie |
Each of the children involved in the program attends
our camp from 12 p.m. to 5 pm., Monday through Friday for two weeks.
Each day is broken up into multiple activity periods that are separated
by short break/transition periods. Each of these periods is designed
to focus on improving functioning in one or more of the following areas
of developmental delay common in children with ADHD: (1) classroom/academic
skills, including on task behaviors; (2) social problem solving skills
with peers; (3) problem solving skills/negotiation with parents and teachers;
(4) self-management of impulsive and inattentive behaviors. Each
one of these skill areas will be continually assessed throughout the summer
camp program. |
Parent Program:
| The parent program is designed to compliment and
supplement the child program, and contains several key parts. First,
parents are focused on effective strategies for teaching children, with
extra emphasis on how children learn, and different ways to reward new
behaviors. Second, parents are provided the opportunity to participate
in a stress management class designed to help them moderate and cope with
the stresses of parenting a child with ADHD in healthier and more adaptive
ways. Next comes a component designed to help parents learn new strategies
to communicate with their children. This component of the program
will also teach parents new strategies to help children enhance their self-esteem.
Finally, our parent program teaches state of the art limit setting, or
discipline, skills to parents. These modules provide parents the
opportunity to enhance their parenting behaviors to meet the developing
challenges of their ADHD children. |
Parenting Skills Group |
ATTENTION CAMP PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
| Specific Objectives |
Management Techniques |
Timelines |
1. Increase/Enhance the Following
Child Skills:
a. On Task Behavior
b. Compliance/minding
c. Self-management of Impulsive
Behaviors
d. Academic Skills
e. Problem Solving Skills
f. Negotiation Skills
g. Self-esteem.
2. Increase/Enhance the Following Parenting
Skills
a. Monitoring
b. Teaching New Behaviors
c. Parental Stress Management
d. Limit Setting
e. Positive Interaction with children
|
1. Management and measurement go hand in
hand. Specifically, management of the attainment of each individual
child’s goals will be dictated by the measurement of their level of functioning
before the ACP, during the ACP and after the ACP. Measurement will
consist of parent report before, during and after the ACP, and daily direct
observation of the children during the ACP. All procedures will be
under the direct supervision of a licensed clinical psychologist.
2. Parent training will be supervised and administered
by a doctoral level clinical psychologist. Parental progress will
be measured before, during and after the ACP, and will utilize parent self-report. |
The process of measuring the levels of child functioning
will begin approximately 2 weeks prior to the start of the ACP. Observations
and assessment will be on-going throughout the program with the last follow-up
by telephone occurring mid-way through the fall semester of school (to
determine the long-term effects of the project.) |
For further information on these camps, how you can
have one in your area, and other ADHD and ADD information visit Dr Al Winebarger's
website at http://www.westernbehavioral.com.
He
is also the sponsor of this month's ezine, allowing it to be free to all.This
is greatly appreciated.
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