Clinical Procedures & Fees Associated with Camp

Diagnostic Evaluation

A 90-min diagnostic intake interview with the child’s parents to collect history, review of systems, differential diagnosis, review of prior records, review of sample videotape of child functioning, parents’ families psychiatric histories, especially in regards to SM and social anxiety.

Starting at 295

CPT CODE: 90791

Child Observation & Parent Training

Up to 60-min live behavioral observation(s) to assess and quantify the degree of mutism with and without the presence of a trained confederate “stranger,” (i.e., the therapist) allowing us to define baseline response rate to different question types, rate, latency and volume of speech with and without stranger present. Live training and modeling of basic exposure skills is provided to parents during this session. In this session and subsequent therapy sessions, Parents are taught, practice, and demonstrate the basics of the requisite prompting, monitoring, and reinforcement skills used by staff. Staff use modeling, shaping, corrective feedback, and contingent reinforcement with parents to train them in these skills.

Starting at 195

CPT CODE: 90837

Parent Feedback Session, Guidance, and Treatment Planning

A 1-hour feedback session with parents is held which includes presenting diagnoses, symptom severity, diagnostic rule outs, and discussing the recommended treatment plan. Parents are asked for their specific goals for their child and what they hope to gain from treatment at ATSA. Decisions are made as to whether the child will start with therapy sessions only, allowing for the future addition of psychopharmacological treatment as an adjunct, or whether to start with combined treatment (or in rare cases to start with psychopharmacological treatment before CBT). Parents will be provided guidance on the behavioral techniques to implement at home and in the community with their child, to help maintain and generalize treatment gains. Parents are provided feedback about their child’s behavioral challenges and gains from the initial assessment sessions, and the specific techniques that will be used to successfully help their child overcome his/her specific barriers in the exposure process. Throughout treatment, parents are provided with additional feedback sessions to discuss next steps, including help with transfer of skills outside of the clinic setting.

Starting at 195

CPT CODE: 90846

Psychotherapy (Lead-In Sessions)

45 to 60-min exposure sessions to condition the child to speak to the therapist first in the presence of the parent, but then fading the parent out so the child is talking to the therapist in the absence of the parent. We then graduate the child to talking in the presence of another child.  Once they have met these a priori goals, they are deemed ready to participate in Adventure Camp.  Absent these a priori goals, the child runs the risk of coming to camp unable to participate verbally, in which case the camp would inadvertently reinforce their mutism, which we avoid at all reasonable costs. During lead-in sessions, parents are also taught, practice, and demonstrate to mastery the requisite prompting, monitoring, and reinforcement skills used by staff. Staff use modeling, shaping, corrective feedback, and contingent reinforcement with parents to train them in the skills. The data from Dr. Steven Kurtz’s intensive group program, Brave Buddies, which AC is modeled after, show that following this protocol, 50% of children achieve the a priori goals in four or fewer sessions; 75% achieve these goals in eight or fewer sessions; 25% require more than eight sessions to be able to talk with the therapist and in front of another child.

195

CPT CODE: 90837

Psychotherapy (Camp)

Six hours of interactive exposure-based behavioral therapy for one-day for Winter Adventure or six hours for five consecutive days (30 units total) for Adventure Camp, similar to a day treatment model. We use a 1:1 therapist to child ratio 95% of the program and a ratio that is never less dense than two children to one counselor. A licensed clinician is always in attendance to provide clinical oversight and to deliver the treatment as well. 

115/hr

CPT CODE: 90837

Parent Training for Adventure Camp

A one-hour daily (5 hours) group training for parents during the camp’s lunch hour plus 3 hours training the Saturday prior to camp (8 hours total) to discuss the children’s progress, behavioral techniques to implement at home and in the community, and ways to maintain and generalize treatment gains. *Only for summer Adventure Camp.

115/hr

CPT CODE: 96202

Post-Adventure Camp Feedback Meeting with School Staff

While a treatment summary report is certainly useful for providing detailed feedback to schools, through the years we have learned that submitting a lengthy 20+ page report to schools at the start of the school year is not always effective. School teams are busy at the start of school, and reading a lengthy report may not be feasible for them. To increase success of transferring treatment gains into the school setting, time is of the essence. We want to ensure that school knows how to help your child before school starts or soon after to avoid any relapse into mutism patterns. Therefore, we believe the most efficient way to provide school with the information they need straight away is by delivering the information in person with a school meeting that includes parents and school staff. A standard agenda is followed which includes: review of five key steps that foster generalization in the school setting, provide recommendations on how to prompt your child in the school setting that can help transfer camp success into school, review your child’s daily camp goals, and provide information on what was effective in camp for your child and what was least effective. This information helps guide schools in their intervention planning. Meeting face-to-face (or via conference call) also allows school teams to ask questions and seek clarification.

Starting at 185 + Travel

CPT CODE: 90846