ADHD Summer camps for kids with Inattentive ADHD

ADHD Summer camps for kids with Inattentive ADHD

ADHD Summer camps for kids with Inattentive ADHD and for kids with the other subtypes of ADHD are few and far between. Considering that 10% of school age children have a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), you would think that there would be an ADHD summer camp at every corner. It is estimated that only 10% or less of school age children play T-Ball or baseball but there are T-Ball and Baseball camps everywhere.

As we know, starting an ADHD camp is much more difficult than starting a baseball camp. A good ADHD camp would have to have at a bare minimum:

1. An onsite medical staff

2. An onsite counseling staff member

3. Camp counselors that were understood well the personal and emotional challenges of ADHD

4. A curriculum that focused on the development of social skills

5. Activities that kids with ADHD would enjoy such as individual sports (tennis, swimming, martial arts).

6. Careful supervision of children with Oppositional Defiance Disorder.

7. Plentiful outdoor time with free choice activities that are closely supervised, safe and fun. 

Hiring, staffing and organizing a camp with this type of structure must be a tall order because there are only a few ADHD summer camps in the nation that are specifically tailored with these components. Many kids with ADHD would enjoy a sleep away camp and could participate in a sleep away ADHD summer camp provided the camp had an appropriate level of support.

My kids would prefer to never go to camp. Their experience with camp has been not at all positive and they have come to regard camp in much the same way that they regard school. They see camp as a place where there is more structure than they want, more activities than they want to do and too many demanding adults who , they report, “boss” them around. Obviously, no parent want to pay for a camp with type of review.

I have found two camps that my Inattentive son and my Hyperactive/Impulsive son will be attending this year. They are not ADHD camps but I think that each of these camps is particularly suited to their individual strengths and challenges. I will be posting more about these camps and about the ADHD sleep over camps that are available in the next few posts.

There are currently only a few summer camps that are specifically structured for kids with ADHD. ADHD summer camps must be structured in such a way to address all the issues and needs of kids with ADHD and this is no small task. I would love to hear about your experience with ADHD summer camps or other summer camps. Please leave me a comment or email.