A: As humans, each action we do and each reaction we get, reinforces certain behaviors. For example, Chaim comes home and throws his coat on the floor. His parent is exasperated and mutters, “Again on the floor. The kid never listens.” Parent then scolds Chaim. Chaim had a long day at school, and was waiting for attention from his parent. He got the attention – albeit in a negative way. Chaim will keep up this behavior because he craves this attention.
The system we use encourages good behavior by providing constant reinforcement and using Effective Commands. When children see that they can listen, this reinforces their positive behaviors and allows them to believe that they are good at listening.
A: No. Children usually act out of line to get negative attention from their peers. In our camp, your child will receive constant positive attention for everything he does right. His negative behavior will hardly get a reaction – thus preventing it from escalating. And so too with all the other children in the group.
A: Yes. We provide comprehensive training and guidance for parents. A parent training is included in our camp experience. We also offer separate parenting groups. See here for more details.
A: With your help as the parent, absolutely. When the parents implement our system at home and keep it up throughout the year, the child will maintain his improved behavior both at home, and at school.
A: You may be eligible for certain funds or programs. Please contact us and we will be happy to guide you.
A: Yes. A nutritious hot lunch will be served daily.
A: Our staff is comprised of committed counselors that went through extensive training in the behavior modification program. Many of them are professional educators and clinicians involved in the education and/or mental health fields. The counselors also participate in daily meetings throughout the summer, to help assess your child’s growth, and analyze his behaviors.
A: An inclusionary camp means that your child is welcome here. Whether he has social challenges, behavioral challenges, emotional challenges, we will work with him and help him access his best self. Our camp is hosted by a large local Monsey camp, and we participate in many of the same daily activities and trips. Yet, we have our own daily schedule and our own bunks so that we can focus on each child individually.
A: We do everything that we can to make him feel part of the regular camp. They wear the same camp t- shirts that the rest of the camp wears, and we do many activities together with the camp. Yes, if you look at our bunks you will see that we have smaller bunks sizes with more staff but overall we blend in as much as we can. Once in camp, we even refer to ourselves as camp Chevra, not as the Peak Program!