WNBC-TV Dr. Max Gomez (with permission)

Summer Camp Helps Smart Kids Stay Focused

Like many kids, 11-year-old Joseph Sweeney spent most of his summer at day camp. But the camp he attends in The Bronx is different. All of the kids have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD.

"Joseph is a very vibrant person," said his mom, Karin. "Very imaginative. Lives in his imagination sometimes. In fact, the camp is working on that. And he's unfocused a lot of the time. But he has so much energy that he can't sleep at night. He just goes and goes and goes. And it's very hard to get him to finish things and to do homework.

"These are children who have a great deal of difficulty getting along with other kids, have very poor social skills," said Dr. Howard Abikoff of NYU’s Summer Program for Kids with ADHD. "It's hard for them to follow rules. They do poorly in school because it's hard for them to get their work done."

OK. But how does summer camp help?

Research shows that kids with ADHD respond to earning rewards for learning new skills. So at camp, they're awarded points and praise for appropriate behaviors, for reducing inappropriate ones and improving in areas they're having trouble with.

Those points earn rewards such as a place on a field trip or maybe a movie on campus.

It's run by the NYU Child Study Center and staffed by counselors who are psychology or education students. The camp's point system also helps children ages 7 to 11 develop social skills, and improve their academic performance in the classroom.

"So this is an opportunity for children to really practice and learn and get better at a lot of the skills that they struggle with during the year," said Abikoff.

"I think I’ve changed in my behavioral skills and my attention skills because I can't really keep someone's eye contact, as you can see," said Joseph. "But I’m more well-mannered and…I’m more attentive now."

"His older brother and sister are out of the house now," said Joseph's mom, Karin. "So the whole dynamics have changed. So if he gets a lot more attention than he would have before. He's negotiating less. He always wanted to extend time, he wanted to get this, can I get this, can I get that. And now he's realizing that no is no and you have to live by the rules."

Most importantly, kids continue their summertime gains throughout the year.

"And I believe that one of the reasons is that they enter school on a different footing"” said Karen Fleiss of the NYU program. "They are feeling more positive about themselves, they've had a great summer, they feel like they can do things differently and better than they did in the past. Of course, then people respond to them differently because they're acting differently and behaving differently and they're more mindful of the things that get them into struggles and difficulties."

Parents are also very involved with the camp, attending training sessions to continue the behavioral strategies at home.

The camp is a little pricey: $8000 for eight weeks. But there are scholarships available to eligible families.

For more information on the NYU Summer Program for Kids with ADHD, log on to their website.