Thanks to camp, a boy transforms

Shelle Lewis doesn’t get nervous when the phone rings anymore. Her stomach is no longer in knots, her anxiety at ease.

But it has been a long journey for the Overland Park mother: It started nine years ago, when her son, David, was born. Premature by 10 weeks, he spent his first four months in the hospital battling to live. Her son was naturally energetic and strong-willed. Shelle, who has an older daughter, now 21, chalked it up to necessary survival skills.

At 2 1/2 , he faced another fight. David had speech delay, causing him to act out when he couldn’t communicate. With some therapy, he started talking. Again, a victory won.

Then came the kicking, biting, screaming and running off. Shelle and her husband couldn’t take David to the mall or the grocery store. His fits were a little more aggressive than the typical toddler tantrum.

“It was very frustrating,” says Shelle, 45. “We had to pick our battles. It got to a point where we would do anything to get him to calm down. It was challenging.”

By the time he was 4, David was diagnosed with ADHD. He started taking medication, saw a behavior specialist and got better. But a full-day kindergarten class at a private school set him back.

Shelle started getting calls from school to pick him up. His fits came more frequently. She started getting desperate. She transferred him to a half-day kindergarten class in public school. Her sister-in-law helped take care of him, and he continued his therapy. For a while, things went well. But first grade was trying, and she knew she had to do something else.

“I was at my wit’s end,” she says. “I started looking for special needs camps. There are a lot for physical disabilities but not many for behavioral disorders.”

Then, while looking through a camp guide, she found Spofford Change Action and Mastery Programs (SCAMPS) Summer Day Camp. Tailored for children ages 6-13, the camp specializes in providing social skills development, peer interaction, conflict resolution and self-confidence.

“I was nervous about sending him to the camp. He was only 7, and I wondered if it was more like a juvenile detention. I worried about what he would be exposed to.”

All it took was one meeting with the staff to alleviate her worries. They didn’t wince at her stories of David’s outbursts. Spofford’s staff members have special education backgrounds. Not only do they offer a day camp for kids with minor behavioral problems such as ADHD, they have school-based management programs where they work with students and a residential program for more serious cases of abuse and neglect.

His first few weeks of camp were rough. David resisted the idea and called a few people “pottyheads.” Shelle prepared herself for the phone call to come pick him up. But it never came. By the end of the summer, he showed improvement, and they even told her they looked forward to his return.

“It was the first time in almost two years where I didn’t have anxiety on a daily basis,” she says. “He was better in school, more focused and threw less fits.”

With a combination of the right medicine and summer camp, progress came. Three summers in, and he’s a different kid. David now is in fourth grade at Brookridge Elementary, and he’s off to a good start. He reads at a sixth-grade level. And things that used to be a challenge for him, like recess and eating in the cafeteria, are becoming easier to handle.

“All the counselors say he’s the one who is the inspiration, because you have seen him come so far,” Shelle says. “He is very aware of his behavior now. He can talk about it, and he understands that this is something to work on.”

Jeneé Osterheldt’s column runs in FYI on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. To reach her, call 816-234-4380 or send e-mail to josterheldt@kcstar.com.

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