Frequently Asked Questions
Is Trip Camp a day or overnight travel camp?
Camp is based in Margate, New Jersey and in 2021 will hold two weeks of camp in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Parents transport campers to and from camp each day. We provide registered camp families with information on accommodations in the area.
What’s a day like at camp?
There is no “typical day” at Trip Camp as you might find at a typical day camp. While our days are structured and active, our schedule changes each day as we do different activities each day.
Here’s a sample schedule:
9:00 AM Arrival/Hanging Out Time
9:15-10:00 AM Learning Time (social learning, executive functioning, independent skills)
10:30-11:30 AM Beach
11:45 AM-12:30 PM Lunch
12:45-1:10 Drive to water park
1:30-3:30 Waterpark
4:00-4:30 Snack & Dismissal
What makes you different than the overnight ADHD camps I see advertised in ADHD magazines?
Overnight camps that market themselves as “ADHD camps” or “social skills camps” cannot be very selective about profiles of campers they take because of their extremely high tuition. As a result, they will have campers with a wide range of neurological profiles. Additionally, these camps could not teach the skills we teach at Trip Camp as it would be.
Trip Camp is a small program specifically for boys who present with ADHD. We are not a special needs camp or a therapeutic camp and are not designed for campers who present with behavioral challenges. Through the admission process if we determine that a camper would be better served at a camp with a greater degree of support than we can provide we will provide you with a referral to a camp where we think your son can be successful.
What kind of results can we expect?
As with any experience, the more time your son spends at camp the more he will generalize the strategies and concepts we are teaching. Parents have remarked how their sons have developed a greater degree of independence and flexibility through attending Trip Camp as well as developing resiliency and independent problem solving skills. We want to be clear that there are no quick fixes when it comes to social & executive function skill development. These areas of lagging skills have a great deal of depth. During Trip Camp we focus on foundational skills that form the basis of executive functioning and social learning.
I’ve searched all over the country and haven’t found anything like your camp. This is exactly what our son needs! Do you know of a camp like yours in (insert your city here)?
You have done your homework correctly! There is no camp like Trip Camp operating anywhere in the U.S.
Ryan Wexelblatt, Trip Camp Founder and Director has extensive training in teaching executive function skill-building strategies and social learning concepts. Ryan is one of the few males in the country to have received a Social Thinking Certificate of Completion for participating in the Social Thinking Clinical Training Program (Level 1). A School Social Worker and Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Ryan has a lifetime of camp experience and is the Director of ADHD Dude Coaching and Programs. Additionally, ADDitude Magazine created a new section on their website for Ryan’s content. Please check out the ADHD in Boys section to watch Ryan’s videos and the ADHD Dude Facebook page.
What should I tell my son about attending Summer Trip Camp? He doesn’t like the ADHD label and thinks his social skills are fine despite the fact he lacks friends.
Many kids who have attended “talk therapy” feel pathologized by their ADHD diagnosis. You can explain to him that we have an instructional period each morning and then are out doing activities the rest of the day. You can show him videos of camp in action at the ADHD Dude YouTube channel as well.
Do you work on academic executive function skills during camp?
No. We do not believe in teaching academic executive function skills during the summer as their is no relevant context for them. Furthermore, the kids we’ve known who have attended academic executive function programs in the summer were very unhappy with sitting indoors all day working on “school stuff” during the summer. We focus on improving global executive function skills such as planning ahead, improving self-directed talk and situational awareness.
Who is not a good candidate for Trip Camp?
Boys who present with ADHD, anxiety with ADHD or learning differences are eligible to apply for admission to Trip Camp.
We do not offer a level of support for boys whom:
- are prone to physical/verbal aggression, emotional outbursts in school or in public
- prone to elopement when upset/angry
- attend a cyber school or are home schooled (not as a result of COVID)
- make threats of aggression towards teachers or classmates
- require 1:1 support in school or are in a self-contained behavioral classroom for the majority of the school day
- are diagnosed with Asperger’s or higher-functioning autism
- have significant anxiety that manifests as negativity/outbursts when in a group setting
- present with significant difficulty being part of a similar-age peer group in school or outside of school
Additionally, Trip Camp is not a good fit for parents who have separation anxiety from their son as we do not permit campers to have mobile devices at camp.