Confidence Connection 2006 “Making Friends and Futures” Now enrolling for summer sessions in Wellesley, MA!! Serving children ages 4-12, with Autism/PDD, Asperger’s, developmental and speech/language delays.  Sessions are two or four hours a day. All therapists are experienced and extremely qualified. Supervision is provided for all programming by Board Certified Behavior Consultants as well as, licensed Speech and Language Pathologists. Program focuses on social/pragmatic language, communication skills, development of peer relationships as well as, independent play/leisure skills.  Program is staffed 2:1. 1:1 is available as needed.

Sample Session: Beginner Learner

Arrival:

Free play

• Goal #1: Explores new toys in environment
• Goal #2: Plays w/ toys as designed
• Goal #3: Appropriate when near peers

Sing the hello song:

• Goal #1: Establish eye contact to initiate a conversation
• Goal #2: Initiates greetings
• Goal #3: Returns greetings
• Goal #4: Use a 2-word phrase, “Hi, Evan” to greet a peer

Talk about today’s schedule and Camp Rules

• Goal 1: Joint attention to visual materials

Pretend Play Activities:

Dramatic Theater: Dress up.

1.  
   • Motor imitation w/ object
   • Gross motor imitation w/ verbal prompts
   • Demonstrate pretend action
   • Request attention
   • Request using sentences
   • Requests help

Pragmatic Themes & Lesson for the Day

• Meeting new people/initiating conversations (greetings)
• Pretend play skills
• Group-play skills (i.e. structured games, turn taking, etc.)
• Language development for social skills
• Learning gestures, facial expressions
• Initiating conversations
• General problem solving with peers/conflict resolution
• How to keep friends/how to play without bossing people
• Cooperating, negotiating, compromising, and being flexible

Snack & Chat

Joint-Story Book Activities:

§        Joint attention skills

§        Language comprehension

§        “wh” questions

§        Vocabulary development

Speech and Language Groups

§      Individualized IEP goals, from each child’s IEP, are worked on in a group session

§      Targets are language development and generalization of speech and language objectives

Reading Non-Verbal Cues

§         Eye contact

§         Facial expressions

§         Tone of voice

§         Posture

Dismissal - Practice Greetings and Prerequisite skills to learning 

Sample Session: Advanced Learner

Arrival - Practice Greetings and Organization & Morning Cooperative Projects

Sensory Integration & Coping Skills

Campers learn to recognize emotions and feelings in their bodies and also learn coping techniques.

Pragmatic Themes & Lesson for the Day

• Meeting new people/initiating conversations (greetings)
• Pretend play skills
• Group-play skills (i.e. structured games, turn-taking, etc.)
• Language development for social development
• Learning gestures, facial expressions and “figures of speech”
• How to make friends (what discourages and encourages friendship)
• Making play dates, planning play dates
• Maintaining conversations and initiating conversations
• General problem solving with peers/conflict resolution
• How to keep friends/how to play without bossing people
• Cooperating, negotiating, compromising, and being flexible

Snack & Chat

Free Choice Time - Interaction is facilitated by group leaders

Feelings & Self Esteem

• Explore and teach ways for children to understand their own and others’ feelings, learn coping skills, and increase self esteem.
• Identification of feelings such as others’ non-verbal cues and one’s own internal feelings.
• Labeling feelings and understanding a range of emotion. (happy vs. elated/annoyed vs. angry, etc.)
• Coping skills - what to do about what you feel - learn 5 different techniques
• Why do people feel certain emotions? If you feel an emotion, do you need to feel it all day/all year? How do you put emotions or preservative thoughts away?
• What to do when other people are upset. What is an appropriate response?
• How do your feelings and attitudes impact other people (peers & adults)? How can you make other people feel upset or happy?
• Conflict resolution

Reading Non-Verbal Cues

• Eye contact
• Facial expressions
• Tone of voice
• Posture