ADHD Teen as camp counselor? | ADHD Information
I'd let her do it too, sounds great. She may step right up to the plate and realize interests that she never had before. She doesn't have to share with the kids that she has a disorder. They probably wouldn't understand anyways. They may give her a harder time if they know. She won't be alone without a senior counsellor will she? [QUOTE=lillian]She's been invited to be a group counselor. Let her go, face her own challenges, and learn. It sounds like a wonderful experience for her. Not only would I not mind if my son had an ADHD camp counselor, I would welcome it because I would think the young man would be good role model. [/QUOTE]
let her do it! It will give her a chance to be herself and learn from her experience. you raised her not using adhd as an excuse, she will be fine! In fact, she will come home with a lot more self confidence that you would have ever guessed! Good for her! She earned the right to do it! YOU GO GIRL!!! GREAT JOB MOM!!!
OK, this got longer than I'd expected. Please be patient and at least skim through the whole story!
Summer is approaching and my 13-year-old ADHD daughter has been invited to be a "Junior Counselor" at the summer daycamp she's attended since 1st grade. I was elated, I really have no other options for her in the summer but to sit at home alone all day every day, probably getting into trouble on the internet. I'm a single mom, work full time. Virtually every summer camp cuts-off at age 12, and at least in my state, teens can't hold even a part-time job (other than detassling corn - ewe!) until they are 14. Age 13 is a "twilight zone" for kids - too old for camp, too young to work.
This Junior Counselor position is unpaid, actually, I just get a discount per week on her fee. She will be expected to help serve snacks, referee some of the sports or play with a team that is short players, pick up after crafts, etc. She'll accompany on field trips and will generally assist as asked. There will always be a senior counselor present too, she will just be there to assist and be the "go-fer".
She WANTED to do this, she did have to actively apply for this position, writing a letter explaining why she wanted to do it and got a family friend to write a letter of reference. She doesn't know yet that she got one of the slots.
The camp knows she's ADHD from previous years, they know her moods and personality. So on one hand, they can't say they didn't know her capabilities as well as her flaws. On the other hand, twice in past three years, they tried to make her a scapegoat in incidences since she was the one with the documented disorder (I could see no other reason why they'd blame her before investigating thoroughly to find out it was NOT her). One of these events literally destroyed a family friendship for a while. So I've had to argue for justice there before. Thankfully, last summer was great, not one problem, and so I'm going into this with a prayer that it works out OK.
My daughter has been on Adderall XR since she was 9 AND Strattera since she was 11. Wonderful results there, and I've refused to let her use her ADHD as an excuse for anything. The medication is a Godsend, but not a miracle.
She is ONLY 13 and has never shown any real level of responsibility before. She never has babysat other than for her 8-year-old sister, and then I pay them BOTH to just stay away from each other cuz they don't get along very well!
BUT I think I need to warn her that any step out-of-line there will be judged more strickly than the "normal" kids who are Jr Counselors. THey'll immediatly say "Well, whad do you expect from a kid with ADHD", and I am worried that they'll be quick to end her "career" if she makes the smallest mistake. However, I don't want to ruin what could otherwise be a great experience for her by making her scared to blink! Does anyone have any suggestions on how to prepare her that she's likely to have higher expectations from the staff since any little lapse in judgment will be chalked up to her being ADHD? Would you be concerned if you found a counselor in your child's camp had ADHD? She's always been upfront about her disorder, which has kept her from being teased at school - they know it doesn't bother her. But if the kids from camp go home and tell their parents that their counselor has ADHD, do you think we're going to have trouble?
Thanks to those who made it through this whole post! Any comments will be appreciated!