About the Summer Treatment Program

History

The Summer Treatment Program (STP) has a proven track record of effective treatment for more than 2,500 children and families. Based on its excellence in providing treatment for children with ADHD, the STP has been featured on national television news and in national magazines. The STP has also been used in clinical trials conducted under the auspices of the National Institute of Mental Health and has been named a Model Program in Child and Family Mental Health by the American Psychological Association. The STP takes place at sites around the world and is internationally acclaimed.

Treatment

Treatments includes (1) individually adapted reward and response-cost programs, (2) training in group problem solving, social , and contracting skills, (3) instruction in overcoming learning deficits; strategies for improving concentration, task completion, and self concept, (4) time out, and (5) a daily feedback system. Treatment plans and strategies are continuously monitored and modified as necessary.

Treatment Summary

A final report, which includes detailed information regarding the effects of these interventions and recommendations for future treatment, is sent to parents at the end of the program.
Although the STP is a highly structured program, most children enjoy the STP tremendously. In addition to being beneficial for them, the program is also fun.

Parent Training Groups

Parents form an integral part of STP by participating in weekly group sessions. Parent sessions are designed to help parents develop skills to reduce problem behaviors, to improve their child's task skills and relationships with parents and peers, and to maintain and extend the gains made in the STP to the child's natural at-home environment. Parent sessions occur in the evening; child care is provided free of charge.

Medication Evaluation

If indicated, the efficacy of medication treatment for the child is evaluated. A comprehensive and carefully controlled evaluation is conducted covering all major areas of the child's functioning (i.e., social behavior, academic performance and productivity, and self concept) that could be affected by medication treatment. By evaluating medication effects in conjunctions with other treatments, the effectiveness of combining medication with those treatments is addressed. Following assessment of medication effects, the program provides the referring physician and parents with a report detailing the child's response to medication and makes specific recommendations regarding the possible usefulness of psychoactive medication for continued treatment.

STP Staff

The program is implemented by highly trained, undergraduate students, graduate students pursing advanced degrees in psychology, and educational specialists. Supervision and oversight are carried out by Dr. Erika Coles, who has extensive experience working with children with ADHD. For more information on working in the STP, please click here for the internship application.

Program Evaluation and Investigation

The STP uses only treatments that have been well documented and shown to be effective through research; however, program staff continue to evaluate treatment effectiveness. Data are gathered via several methods, including observational, psychometric, neuropsychological, and rating measures, evaluated to determine individual and group responses to treatments.

To help further the understanding of behavioral problems in children, information is gathered from children and their families enrolled in the program. Children may be asked to participate in a variety of programs, including performance measures of computerized tasks involving different aspects of learning, attention, and memory, or assessing how children interact with one another in competitive task situations. Similarly, parents may be asked to complete rating scales or to be observed in controlled settings that measure different aspects of family functioning. In order to maintain confidentiality and a complete understanding of these projects, parents are asked to sign consent forms that describe each project prior to their child's participation in the project.

STP Effectiveness

The acute response to the STP has been evaluated in a large group of ADHD children over a period of five years. Parent and staff ratings of effectiveness were uniformly positive.

These positive evaluations undoubtedly contribute to the very low dropout rate (only 3%) that the STP had over the 5 year period. The STP has been replicated at many sites around North America, including both community and academic settings. All sites have reported the same positive clinical results and parent satisfaction that have characterized the results at our site. The STP has been a component of psychosocial treatment for children in clinical prevention trials funded by NIMH, NIDA, and SAMHSA-CSAP, with similar positive results.

 

 

Click Here for Information on the Staff of of the Summer Treatment Program.