Employees say UT is a great place to work. Benefits such as insurance, annual leave and sick leave are competitive and, in some cases, better than those offered by private companies. More perks of working for UT include taking advantage of day care, classes, camps and other activities for children right where you work.
Five years ago, Katie Epps’ son, Benny, was having difficulty concentrating in class. Epps, an accounting specialist for the UT Health Science Center Pharmacology Department, took Benny to see Dr. David Kube, a UT Health Science Center neurodevelopmental pediatrician.
Dr. Kube suggested Benny try a UTHSC camp for kids with ADHD called ‟All Days are Happy Days,” which was developed and is run by faculty and staff at the UT Boling Center for Development Disabilities.
The camp is designed to teach kids how to work with others and strategies for managing their behavior, such as the STAR technique. STAR teaches kids to Stop,Think And React.
“One of the concerns was whether or not Benny was really ADHD,” says Belinda Hardy, chief of social work for the Boling Center. “We were able to observe him in camp instead of an office setting and see his ability to interact with other kids.”
About 80 percent of camp attendees have a formal ADHD diagnosis, but a child doesn’t have to be formally diagnosed to attend the camp.
“It’s our policy that we don’t rule anyone out unless they don’t meet the age requirement, which is 6 to 11,” Hardy says.
Benny enjoyed his time at camp and was excited to go every morning. “Most mornings (her son) would not want to get up, but he was eager to go to camp,” says Katie Epps.Learn more about the camp at uthsc.edu or by emailing Belinda Hardy atbtate@uthsc.edu.
Tags: Family
