A multi-informant evaluation of a summer therapeutic camp for children with special needs: Parent and counselor ratings and child self-report

• Main Author: Greenberg, Lisa
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2010
• Subjects: Clinical psychology; Developmental psychology; Mental health; Recreation
• ISBN: 1124131019; 9781124131016

Summer therapeutic camps are increasingly recognized as viable treatments for children with behavioral and psychiatric disorders. Therapeutic camps provide ecological validity for developing skills and self-awareness in children's areas of difficulties; intervene directly with the child rather than with teachers or parents (Pelham et al., 2000); and provide intensive multi-modal programming. Despite these benefits, few such programs are available, and little research has been conducted to understand their effectiveness. The study's objective was to provide a rigorous multi-informant evaluation assessing the effectiveness of a summer therapeutic camp in reducing problem behaviors in children with special needs, and to understand factors that contribute to improvements. Participants were 155 children and adolescents attending Quest Therapeutic Camp and diagnosed with disorders including ADHD, Asperger's, mood, and anxiety disorders. This study examined self-esteem, inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, aggression and social relationships based on parent, counselor, and child ratings at the beginning and end of camp; examined the impact of treatment dosage, novelty to camp, and parental involvement on rates of change; and evaluated clinical significance of change. The primary findings are that Quest's summer intervention produced substantial reductions in inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, aggression, and gains in peer and family relationships and competence in athletics and behavioral control. Parents and counselors reported larger gains than children and adolescents, and gains were found across diagnostic, ethnic, age, income, medication status and gender groups; and across clinical importance measures, including reliable change, clinical equivalence, effect size, and global impairment indices. Quest Therapeutic Camp demonstrates large effects in improving overall functioning in different settings and medium effect sizes in reducing problem behaviors and improving social skills based on parent and counselor report. Overall, the results indicate that Quest Therapeutic camp is a viable and effective treatment for children with special needs. Informant discrepancies also support prior research identifying a "positive illusory bias" in such children and highlight the need for multiple informant ratings and objective measures in future studies. Findings highlight the effectiveness of summer therapeutic camps for children with special needs, and suggest a need for programmatic replication and extension of the intervention to low-income children and families.