6/26/09

I started my first week of interning at Connections this week. Essentially, it’s a program for children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (HFASD’s); but in actuality it is much more. The program differs from other summer camps and therapy given to these kids in that it is a six-week intensive camp that runs every weekday for about seven and half hours. Rather than being filled with “typical” camp activities, the weekdays consist of intensive sessions of behavioral and social training coupled with therapeutic activities for the children throughout the day. What is more, throughout the day these children are graded on an intensive point system which allows them to earn points through using social skills and following rules while Research-Clinicians (the people who lead all of the activities and lessons) and other staff at the camp dock them points for negative behaviors. At the end of the week, if children have met their individual point goals, they are rewarded with a field-trip. Throughout the camp, points and behaviors are also being recorded to provide empirical evidence of the success of the treatment.

Being that the program is such a complicated and intricate endeavor, a full week of training is required to prepare staff to be able to apply it. As a Research-Clinician, I had to have all objective definitions of the behaviors that earned and lost children points memorized. I also had to be able to execute the specific methods of teaching the activities while calling points for children with a high fidelity level in order to be allowed to actually do it during camp. The first days of the week were spent taking tests on the program manual and operational definitions, as well as sitting in on lectures about the nature of the program and the children in it. The rest of them were spent practicing the program methods (the teaching of social skills and calling points on staff pretending to be children) all day long.

I must say, after having completed the week, that it was very challenging. The program is so intricate and fast-paced that it is difficult to master. But I made it through, passing all of my tests and evaluations…and I’m so excited to meet my kids next week! Myself and two other Research-Clinicians have been assigned a group of six 7-9 year olds and have named our group the “Fantastic Fish.” I can’t wait to really start the actual program and apply the skills that I’ve been learning all week to aid in the behavioral improvements of my kids.

7/3/09

My second week of interning was, all in all, amazing…though I can honestly say that this is the most mentally demanding job that I have ever had due to the complicated program coupled with the long hours. Each day, staff members are required to arrive an hour before the kids arrive and stay long enough to finish data entry after the kids leave. That first hour on Monday was filled with so much anticipation for me. My kids are so great. After spending a week practicing execution of the program with adults, it was so refreshing to finally be doing it with real kids. It (obviously) works much better that way. My team is also amazing. We have a great leader (she is a more experienced, returning Research-Clinician), and very hard-working members with high energy. Energy is really key in working with these kids. If you aren’t active, you’ll never get their attention.

It is very interesting to me how one single label (HFASD’s) can encompass children who are so different yet so similar all at once. Each of the Fantastic Fish has his own interests (yes, they are all boys) and his own personal strengths and weaknesses; yet each of his behaviors fall so neatly into the diagnostic criteria. Their interests and obsessions range from things like Transformers and Star Wars to the Titanic, shoes, and even gardens. It’s such an interesting spectrum of disorders.

At the beginning of the week, it was challenging to adjust to the kids, but we were all ready for it because of training. The days started out long, but got shorter as I grew more accustomed to flowing with the program. At about mid-week, educators seeking to learn more about the program and being able to apply it in their own classrooms began to come in and observe our class. From then on, we almost always had someone in our room watching us as we worked.

Thus far, I can say that it is fascinating that the kids are able to pick up on everything given the speed of the program. Thankfully, all of the Fantastic Fish made it to the fieldtrip at the end of the week, and it was very exciting for me personally to be able to see their joy in accomplishing doing that. I can also say that I can already see a change in my kids from just a week of intensive therapy and behavior modification. It’s amazing how with a little structure and the right experimental conditions, kids who many think are impossible can begin to improve in such short a time. I can’t wait to begin the next week of Connections.

7/10/09

The third week of Connections was quite interesting. Though I was already made familiar with the kids in my group all last week, their true personalities are beginning to come out now. As a result, this week was a little tougher than the first. Because my kids are getting so comfortable with me (and the rest of my team) being around, they are beginning to test us and are no longer focused on first impressions (if they ever were). All week it seemed as though each and every one of them pushed the envelope in his own way to measure how much we might bend the rules, or even break under stress. There were times when each and every one of them had a break down in his own way (and consequently was set back many negative points), but by the end of the week it was clear to them that we weren’t budging.

On Friday, we went to the Naval Park for a fieldtrip. All of our kids were very excited, but unfortunately one had to stay back because of bad behavior during the week. Hopefully, it will serve to inspire him and show the rest of the group that there are consequences for their actions and when they adhere to the program they will be rewarded. That being said, I’m already seeing positive results in the kids’ behavior, and it is amazing to me how fast the program is working with them. After a hard week of being pushed by the kids and having to discipline them in the face of struggle, it was really rewarding to finally get out with them to something a bit less demanding.

In the structure of the program, it’s easy to forget that the kids that you’re working with aren’t “normal” kids, per se. But as soon as we took them outside of that context, it was an instant reminder of the fact that they really do need therapy and help. When we were on one of the ships at the park, a tour guide there decided to joke around with our group and say that in order to get to the other boat they had to jump across to it. Any other kids would have thought it was so funny, but our kids were horrified. The man, I’m convinced, was quite confused as I explained to my kids (who were horrified) that he was just joking… but on a small scale it demonstrated how much they really need help, despite the fact that at times it may appear that they don’t need it.

Having said that, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to help these kids, and I can’t wait for the next week of Connections to start so that I can do that.

7/17/09

The fourth week of Connections has ended, and it was a great one. Since one of our kids stayed back from the fieldtrip last week, it ensured that they were on their best behavior on Monday. But that quickly fell apart. Wednesday and Thursday were two of the most trying days that we’ve had yet. Though our kids are learning more social skills and getting a better grip on the program itself and how to earn points, they are also more comfortable than ever with us and as a result have the tendency to act out sometimes.

Two of our kids in particular had especially difficult weeks. One of them has a very bad habit of biting his hand repeatedly when he is nervous, and on account of this has a large scar. One of his individual goals involves not biting his hand, and for whatever reason he was not doing so well with that this week. He ended up failing his Individual Daily Note (a report on his own specific goal behaviors) on account of that one day, and ultimately had to stay back from the field trip. The other kid that had trouble has major issues with eye contact, appropriate voice level, and paying attention. He got so many points off for not paying attention that he didn’t meet his goals for the fieldtrip, stayed back as well.

Despite the hard time that we had with two of the kids, as a group we had some major milestones. On Thursday, for the first time during a therapeutic activity, all of the kids in our group had conversations with each other about appropriate topics without being prompted. This in and of itself was enough of a success for me to overshadow all of the problems for the whole week. Though two of our kids stayed back, they all are developing social skills at an amazing rate and really learning the benefits of communication with others. Having a conversation for a normal child is so run of the mill, but for them it is very challenging. I can’t wait to see what other milestones they are able to reach.

The fieldtrip this week was also great. We went cosmic bowling, and the kids loved it. (Who knew so many kids loved Michael Jackson music.) Now that we’ve been out with them twice, they are beginning to really feel secure with us and are as a result more able to let go and relax. There’s nothing like dancing and bowling with a bunch of HFASD kids. It made my week.

I’m hoping that next week all of our kids make it on the fieldtrip. I can’t wait to take them all out at once, and I have a feeling that the fact that half of them have stayed back from one will prove to be a wake up call that they need to be on their best behavior. In turn, this coming week should be our best so far. (And once again, I can’t wait for it!)

7/24/09

This week was quite a rollercoaster. We significantly changed a few of the kids’ IDNs; and it proved to be an early week mini disaster. Monday and Tuesday, half of our kids failed them. It was a big self-esteem blow for them, and a morale killer for the entire class (not to mention for us). But, thankfully, we turned it all around. We adjusted the majority of the IDNs and implemented a new system in our classroom, and the kids began to do great! At the beginning of the week, they were responding so negatively to losing points that we decided to implement a positive reinforcement protocall for each of them individually.

For the new system, we wrote out reminders for each child that were suited to their own personal main difficulty, and every time they listened to the reminder they were rewarded with points. It worked like a charm. I knew that positive feedback was good, but praise is so powerful. It’s amazing what concentrating on the good to get rid of the bad can do. As a result of a small adjustment of the IDNs coupled with the new strategy, all of our kids were able to go on the fieldtrip for the first time. We all went to the zoo, and it was such a good reward for them to see the fruits of responding positively when being prompted to remember to do something. Hopefully, the behavior will stick for the last week of Connections and prove to become a habit to be used at home and elsewhere.

Though the week started out on a lousy note, we really turned it around. It was a great time for our team to be encouraged with the performance of our kids… and the implementation of a brand new system turned out to be one of the best ideas that we’ve come up with yet. As usual, I’m very interested in seeing the kids’ progress next week; and I cannot wait to see what kind of improvement we can push for during the last few days of it all. By the time it’s done, our kids will be like completely different people with regards to social skills…and I can’t wait to see the final product!

7/31/09

The last week of camp at Connections was everything I could have hoped for. We were worried about having behavioral problems due to separation anxiety because our kids love so much to adhere to routines; but we didn’t have any more problems with that than a normal classroom would have had. There were a few instances of crying, but for the most part the kids focused on getting as many points as they could in order to finish of Connections on a positive note. They all did so well.

The week ran so smoothly and our kids were on schedule with their points almost every day. As a team, we worked really hard to keep up our energy levels and really put in 110% percent to encourage them to do the best that they ever had. One of our boys actually got a perfect score on his IDN, one of the most if not the most difficult one in the class. His family actually cried they were so happy about it. All in all, the last week really proved to solidify all that they had learned.

On the last day, we went to Fantasy Island to celebrate together for our filed trip. The day was without issues until one of the kids threw up on the last ride of the day, but we surmounted the problem by giving him some of our clothing. After the field trip we had an award ceremony for the boys with their families, followed by a reception with them to say goodbye. Our kids all changed SO MUCH, and it was so rewarding to see that their families could see that and were thankful for it. Even though it was sad to see them go (and I did shed a few tears), I have every faith that they will go on to use the skills that they learned together at camp, and that even though the program was short it was well worth while for them all.

All that remains now of my summer internship is two days of data entry and test calculations until it is finished.

8/4/09

Our two days of work with the research team were very rewarding. We added results from tests like the BASC and ABC, and did data entry for a few of the stress measurement and happiness scales that the kids rated during the program. Though I wouldn’t want to do it as a full-time job, it was really refreshing to see the other side of the work that was going on throughout the program behind the scenes. After working with the team, I feel that I have a better understanding of Connections as a whole.

In closing this journal, I would like to reflect that my experience with Connections was amazing. Not only was I able to work first-hand helping people, but I was able to work as a Clinician doing behavior modification and therapy and get hands-on experience applying some of the things that it seems like I have been studying for so long in class. Working with Connections was by far one of the most rewarding things that I have ever done; and it was a welcoming reassurance that I am in a field of study that I would enjoy being in for the rest of my life.