THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 9, 1994 TAG: 9408090067
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGIE MARBURY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 121 lines
DAVID HARRIS wants to be a winner.
And in some ways he already is.
As a member of the Monarch Diving Club at Norfolk Academy, he has won four meets over the past year. And he was victorious more than once at a game of Pin Dodge Ball he played with his friends at summer camp.
But, like many of his friends at camp, 10-year-old David is struggling with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which causes his excessive energy and frequent misbehavior.
At Winners Summer Camp in Virginia Beach, the battle is becoming a little bit easier.
A program that began June 27, Winners Summer Camp is for youths ages 9 to 14 who exhibit behavioral and emotional problems such as ADHD, learning or oppositional disorders, or social deficits.
``They're like me,'' David said of his friends at camp. ``They're ADHD. And they have differences.''
Some of those differences include extreme distractibility, recklessness, a violent temperament and hyperactivity.
The camp, sponsored by First Home Care in Norfolk, is designed to facilitate academic and social growth for students.
``I'd like for them to learn to express themselves as individuals and learn to accept themselves for who they are,'' said Stephanie O'Hara, Education specialist for FHC and director of the camp. ``I want them to acquire some better social skills and have a sense of accomplishment so they can go away with the idea that they can take what they've learned and use it at home and in school.''
Eleven-year-old Jackie says this part is easy for him and his friends.
``We love to share our feelings,'' said Jackie. ``And we do great art stuff. We write stories and invent stuff and we get to go to fun places.''
FROM 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. every day, the students divide into two groups and rotate between art time and computer time.
Part of the art component is to sign or draw on the Wall of Winners. The kids use paints, markers and crayons to cover a large white sheet of paper, signifying that they are winners.
During the computer time, the kids excitedly play math and other academic games, as well as fun games like Star Trek.
But their day is structured.
``They need the external control around them because they have so much difficulty with internal control,'' O'Hara said. ``They learn to manage their own behavior because the environment is structured.''
For David, part of that structure means taking the drug Ritalin three times a day. It helps him remain focused.
Without the drug daily, David has less control over his behavior.
One afternoon during recess at Woodstock Park in Virginia Beach, David and a friend refused to get on the bus when O'Hara announced it was time to leave.
After much coaxing, his friend complied. Yet David persisted, ``No, I don't want to leave.''
``This is not like him,'' O'Hara said.
Then she remembered.
It was 2:30 p.m., and he had not received a noontime dose of Ritalin.
So O'Hara scooped David into her lap after escorting him from a wooded hiking trail he ran into during his protest.
``We've never had anything like this to happen before,'' O'Hara said. ``Especially not with David.''
BUT IT HAPPENS every day with children all over the United States.
Experts on ADHD say it afflicts as many as 3 1/2 million American youngsters, or up to 5 percent of those under 18. It is two to three times likely to be diagnosed in boys as in girls.
``A lot of times females don't act out as much. Guys are geared to be more aggressive. Girls will talk a lot and give you more attitude, where boys will choose an impulsive behavior or acting out. That's why girls aren't always recognized as having it,'' O'Hara said.
Enrollment at Winners Summer Camp consists of eight boys, including David.
The camp addresses deals with ADHD, Attention Deficit Disorder, emotional problems and post-traumatic stress syndrome.
David's condition is two-fold. In addition to having ADHD, he also has post-traumatic stress syndrome.
It's a condition he was diagnosed with after suffering severe shock from Hurricane Hugo in 1992. He lived in Puerto Rico then.
``David had to be hospitalized for seven days,'' said his mother Jenilee Harris. ``We lost everything we owned except the clothes we were wearing and our jeep. So he just watched everything we owned just go down the drain.
``He's still remembering things. Sometimes we'll be driving down Interstate 44 and all of a sudden he'll have a flashback. And I just try to remain calm and we'll talk about it,'' said Harris, a law enforcement officer in the Navy.
Harris says she is now looking for a school that David can attend this fall that accepts academic achievers who are also emotionally disturbed.
``It's hard to find people who will deal with kids like David. The Winners program was a blessing in disguise,'' Harris said.
Such programs that interact with kids one-on-one like Winners Summer Camp are a rarity, she said.
``The ratio here is small,'' said O'Hara, who along with her assistant Cheryl Celetano teaches the kids. ``That's what's going to make it successful for the kids. Individual needs will be met.''
The camp focuses on academics from 9 a.m. to noon; from 1 to 4 p.m., the focus is social and recreational.
``It's fun as well as educational, but it doesn't make you completely exhausted during the day. We learn responsibility and have fun while being responsible,'' said 12-year-old Chris, a student at the camp.
Each Friday the children go on field trips.
They've been to Mount Trashmore Park and have rollerbladed at the Boardwalk; they plan to go to Nauticus, Busch Gardens and Seashore State Park.
Fun aside, the camp has offered lessons for these kids to live by.
``I have to be responsible, to be nice and take my medicine,'' says David, a former Southeastern Junior Olympic Champion. ``You have to have faith in yourself and treat others with respect.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Winners Camp assistant Cheryl Celentano supervises Jackie, center,
who tries to ``freeze'' Ron during a game of Smog's Jewel, which is
designed to promote teamwork. Camp participants David, left, and
Chris watch.
by CNB