Staff not needed?

July 18, 2012
Staff not needed?

You know it has been a successful summer when you sit down to play a game of Duck Duck Goose and the staff are able to stand back and only provide minimal support. Talk about a moment of triumph!  This game may seem simple to many, but we find that it is actually quite difficult to grasp for many of our kids. It is difficult to understand the "change" in roles when you have been picked, then you chase, then it is your turn to choose......that sequence is very difficult to achieve. It is also difficult to wait your turn while seeing so many others getting chosen ahead of you, it is hard to remember the order of the words to say as well as which word you select to show everyone your "choice", it is difficult to not feel overwhelmed when someone is chasing you down, remembering to sit back down when getting chased is hard, as well as not "tagging" too hard when you are the one pursuing. We play this game multiple times over the summer, and as the weeks go on, we get to see the incredible progress, inch by inch. In the beginning, the staff are sitting with the kids, reminding each camper what to do next and even holding their hands and running with them around the circle; but now, 7 weeks into the summer, the campers sustained about 25-30 minutes of playing this game, while the staff stood back and watched their enjoyment. What an incredible day!

Friendship

July 17, 2012

Friendship

One of the main attractions to our programs, is our dynamic staff. They are incredible. The children love them, the parents rave about them, and they truly love working with our kids. We are very selective when determining the right people to hire, and over time, we feel we have perfected the art of finding just the right team! The reason this seemingly small detail, is one of the unique things that sets us apart from other programs in Atlanta; is that the play our campers experience with our staff, is their first step towards developing healthy peer relationships. The children that come to our camps, typically stand back when in a crowd, they fade into the background, they may try to engage but the interactions tend to fail miserably, they make jokes that may be inappropriate, or they may push someone too hard in a game because they realize the difference between gentle and too rough. All of these factors, cause many of our campers to be labeled in other groups as, "too rough", "inappropriate", "too quiet", "too loud", "too aggressive", "too sensitive", etc. But, in our groups, we see those attempts at engaging as good sign, the child wants to play they just need some extra support to reach the same level of appropriate interaction as others. Our staff DO NOT sit back a facilitate, instead they play just as hard as the campers, and because of this, our staff become the campers first playmates at camp. They receive those inappropriate interactions and respond with verbal and non-verbal cues that help the child to understand why their behavior might be inappropriate. Once we have spent some time with a camper, they begin to trust the staff, and they start to understand the more appropriate ways to interact, we then start adding other campers into the interactions and support the play. This way, the children are able to "try their new skills out", with support when things go badly and praise when they go well. They start picking up on the cues the other child is responding with, and then organically, a new friendship is born. After this step is mastered, the children are then able to take these new skills out into less supported environments and find success when playing with new children.

Siblings

July 16, 2012
Siblings

One of our favorite dynamics in our groups at Learning on the Log, is when siblings join in. In a family where one child has any special needs, the sibling(s) are often lost in the shuffle. Because they are able to do things without extra help or attention, and their special needs sibling does need extra attention, the sibling may feel left out or that no one listens to their needs. They also may feel unsure of how to interact with their special needs brother or sister or feel embarrassed by their melt downs and reactions to things, they may not understand the lack of attention they receive and may resent it, and they may feel jealous of all the attention and “fun therapy” their brother/sister might be receiving. On top of those confusing feelings, the sibling usually also feels a strong protective pull towards their special needs brother/sister and feel it is their responsibility to watch out for them. When they join our camps, we can support them through all of these things. We help them to see how to interact with their brother/sister in a way that draws the out and motivates them to engage, they see that there are many other children similar to their sibling and who act the same way and they start to not feel so embarrassed by the outbursts, they feel comfortable in our groups because no one is judging their sibling for their unusual behavior, they are able to relax and just have fun because they don’t have to feel responsible for how others will perceive their brother/sister, and overall they get to enjoy their sibling and feel that the counselors are there to listen to them and help them process their feelings, just as much as their special needs sibling. They feel important and that their feelings are important. On the other side, it is also incredibly important to have siblings and typically developing children in our groups because it “ups” the social interactions for all of our campers. The natural interactions of the siblings draws our LOTL campers out of their shell, they attempt to emulate the social skills they observe, and they are drawn to a higher lever of interaction that you see less of when all the children are grouped in with others at their same level.The typical children and siblings learn empathy and understanding that all children are different and special and have their own strengths, and the children on the spectrum learn appropriate behavior and social techniques, which they are then attempting to emulate with other children and at home with their families

Finding Meaning

A child’s ability to find meaning within a relationship with staff or peers, and find meaning within a game and activity is at the core of Learning on the Log's social formula.  It is the reason why we hire so many dynamic staff in each program, and it is why we work so hard at connecting with each child.  Organic social skills learned within our programs have a better chance of being generalized to other settings when those experiences have meaning.  For example, campers make it a point to say hi and bye to friends, invite each other to birthday parties, lead parents and siblings on a hike, take more chances on the playground, and become more assertive in communicating needs.  All of us get more out of experiences that have meaning, and our campers are able to experience social success for the same reason.

What is Typical?

July 14, 2012,
What is typical?

Many times, when a parent finds out their child has a diagnosis of Autism or any other social delay, the disappointment that we hear most frequently is: “I won’t ever get to play ball with my son or see him play on a “typical” sports team”. The way we structure our groups at Learning on the Log, many times you are unable to tell if the group is “typical” or “special needs”. We start each day with warm-ups, stretches, team cheers, and then sports. When looking at the group as a whole, the only difference you might notice is the abundance of staff that are playing alongside the kids, otherwise it is truly difficult to tell the difference. What does a “typical” child get out of playing sports and being on a team? They learn to be part of a group, they learn to take turns, they learn to cheer for their friends when they are successful and to mourn their losses, they feel success when they perform well, they learn strategy and thinking in the moment. Our kids learn all of these things and start to care about them; they just need some extra support to get there. The advantage these have over other children is they start to understand and feel empathy for others, when they see them having a hard time. Because tour kids start to recognize they are different and need some help along the way, with the right social support, LOTL children start to care about and empathize with the “little guy” and they then want to help out. In the long run, the skills our children are learning are just as important, if not more important than what a typical child learns on a sports team. Maybe we should redefine what is typical and what qualities are important for our youth…..

Hands in the Middle

This is a daily, if not multiple times a day, tradition we embrace in all our Learning on the Log programs. Just like sports teams, Learning on the Log attempts to gain a "team" feeling within all of our groups. This exercise requires everyone (kids and adults) to put their hand in the middle of the circle and on the count of 3, they cheer for a common goal (usually the next transition or activity). It is challenging for many reasons. You have to be in very close proximity with other people and for many of our campers, they initially find this incredibly uncomfortable and if not supported by a staff, they would just walk away or refuse to participate. You have to sustain focus on a common goal for longer than some of our campers find comfortable. You have to sequence the directions, hear the word to use, listen to the countdown, and then lift your hand in sync with the group, as well as say the cheer at the right time. All of these steps are difficult for many of our campers to track. But, because we do this on a very consistent basis, the kids start looking forward to joining in, they slowly become less and less uncomfortable with different aspects of it and soon are enduring closeness like never before. They are able to focus for longer and longer without help, and they are all incredibly proud when the sequencing goes right and they all cheer at the same time. This is an incredibly important practice, because: it introduces consistency, it encourages team work, the campers feel like they can be successful in uncomfortable situations, everyone cheers together for a common goal, and overall the kids leave the group energized, organized, and excited for the upcoming activity.

The Importance of Downtime

July 12, 2012

The Importance of Downtime

We get asked this question multiple times, why do you drive around so much in your programs? Isn't that a waste of the day? We don't think so, and this picture is a prime example of why.....our campers work hard while they are at camp. They get sweaty, tired, grumpy, their engines get high due to the tough social interactions, and we tend to go-go-go. The transition time in the vans gives everyone a chance to calm their bodies and emotions down. They re-charge by reading, playing with small toys, singing to the kid's CD's, talking with their neighbor (kids and staff), or even taking a nap. This ensures their little bodies are ready to go for the next activity, and we find that they are much more open to being challenged and trying new things after they have had time to re-charge in the vans.