Summer Program

Please complete an online application. All applications will be reviewed within five business days to determine if your child is eligible for the program.

Please contact summerprogram@childmind.org or 646.625.4239 if you have any questions.

Enrollment is on a first-registered, first-served basis.

Children who have behavioral, learning or social skills difficulties will benefit from this program, as well as children who have had difficulty feeling successful in typical summer camps or programs in the past. Children benefit from a higher level of support from their counselors to practice developing and maintaining positive peer relationships, successfully participating in team sports and working well in a group environment.

Absolutely. Studies have shown that parental and family involvement in a child’s treatment leads to more positive outcomes. Parents will receive a daily update on their child and will be asked to participate in weekly training so they can continue reinforcing skills at home.

Following participation in the Child Mind Institute Summer Program, families can receive ongoing support if interested. This may involve parent training to help with managing behaviors at home, school consultation to develop a consistent behavior plan in the classroom, or providing individual support to your child. If clinically indicated, this could also include the completion of a thorough diagnostic evaluation, medication consultation or neuropsychological testing. Follow-up care can be provided for an additional cost.

The Child Mind Institute has financial aid available for families who qualify. If you have financial need, we will send you a financial aid application. For those families who qualify for financial aid and are traveling from out of town, the Child Mind Institute Cares Fund offers a daily stipend for travel expenses.

Yes. We welcome children and families from across the country and around the world. Our website includes information on places to stay near us and family friendly things to do in New York City.

The staff consists of licensed psychologists, social workers, associate psychologists, licensed teachers and a nurse. All of our counselors are carefully chosen through a competitive application process and receive over 40 hours of intensive training prior to the start of the program as well as onsite training and supervision from our program directors. There is one counselor for every two children allowing our counselors to provide frequent feedback and real-time interventions in order to facilitate personalized support.

Each day, children have academic learning time as well as art, recreational and sports activities. We teach a new social skill each day, with opportunities for children to practice with their age-matched peers through role-plays and during each activity. Each child will have their own daily report card with target behavior goals and will work towards being on the honor roll, receiving group awards and other daily privileges. As group conflicts occur, problem-solving discussions will be facilitated within the group. In addition to daily rewards, children will have the opportunity to earn the privilege of attending a field trip every Friday. Field trips will take place at locations around New York City.

Typical summer camps can be difficult for many children with ADHD or related behavioral, learning and social needs. There are often large groups of children with a limited number of counselors and overstimulating environments. The Child Mind Institute Summer Program provides a highly structured environment where children can practice having successful interactions with both peers and adults. By treating children in a camp-like setting, we are able to intensively evaluate and provide direct interventions related to children’s difficulties in peer relationships and group activities. With a ratio of one counselor for every two children, small group sizes and an individualized reward system, counselors are able to provide consistent and frequent feedback for targeted behaviors in order to facilitate real behavior change. The Child Mind Institute Summer Program provides 120 hours of intensive treatment in 4 weeks — significantly more time than a child with ADHD or related needs would receive in a year of weekly outpatient treatment.

Children will earn points (or tokens for the younger age group) for positive behaviors that we aim to increase during their camp experience. For example, they will receive points for following activity rules and for good sportsmanship, as well as additional points every time they demonstrate that they are paying attention, following directions, helping or sharing with a peer, contributing to a group discussion or ignoring negative behavior in the group. Each child will also be working on earning points for individual goals that will be determined during the intake process in collaboration with parents and teachers. Children will lose points whenever they engage in a negative behavior.

Each day, children will earn awards or privileges for their points – including being on the honor roll for highest number of points or being the group’s best sport for the day. At the end of each day, they will be able to “cash-in” their points for rewards and prizes that are tailored to your child’s unique interests. Points will also go towards the privilege of attending a field trip with the group at the end of each week.

Each child will receive their own binder at the start of the program that will review the point system and all activity rules in detail, as well as what behaviors will result in an additional reward or consequence. This will be tailored to each child’s developmental level and needs.

If children engage in negative behaviors such as noncompliance, name-calling or teasing, swearing, interrupting, or lying, they will lose points from their behavior chart. If they engage in unsafe behaviors, they will lose points and receive a time-out from the group activity. Program rules will be reviewed and a group problem-solving discussion will be facilitated if this occurs.

We have a licensed nurse on staff who will administer medication.

Yes, you will need to pack a lunch and water bottle for your child each day. We will provide snacks and additional drinks throughout the day. Children should come dressed ready to play outside and participate in sports activities each day. Please send them in sneakers and socks, with a change of clothes in their backpacks if needed. Once enrolled in the program, additional details will be sent out about field trips.

Yes. Children are asked to bring their own lunch each day and those lunches may NOT contain nuts. All snacks that we provide will also be nut-free. Please let us know in advance if your child has any food allergies so that we may make our nurse aware.