I'm so sorry I haven't updated lately. With starting school myself, I have to learn how to schedule everything and then I recently got this laptop and didn't have this site on there. I hope to be able to keep better track of them now..
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Remember that CAC is this coming Monday November 2nd at 9 am with registration starting at 8:30 am. Here is the post from the CAC list..
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Monday, November 2, 2009 -
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Strategies for Appropriate Community Interactions
Presenter: Traci Suyeyasu, Young Adult Transition Teacher
Room/Time: Burwood 1 - 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. *
Video Encore Presentation - Monday, 11/16/09 - 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - Justice Room
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REMEMBER the business meeting is following it and is very informative and everyone is welcome to come!!!
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Now I'm going to try to give a short review of the past two CAC's so you can kinda get a idea about what they were about.
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Sept's CAC was with Bev Long and was called "Lost in the Social Maze: Navigating Without a Compass"
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She talked about
- how to identify Social Opportunities. At home: Family meals, Visits with relatives, sibling interactions, play dates. In the Community: Neighborhood peer gatherings, Errands, Park Playgrounds, Sports teams, Martial Arts or Swimming teams, Music Lessons, Church/Synagogue activities, scouts.
- How challenging is a particular social situation? Predictability, Clear expectations, Communication demands, Hidden Curriculum Demands, Number of people, Types of people, Sensory Factors, Length of Time, Physical Space, Physiological factors.
- 10 questions to ask when assessing a social situations difficulty: 1. How many times has my child been in the situation before? Does he know what to expect? 2. Are you clearly letting im know what is expected of him? 3. What communication skills will he have to use? 4. Are there a lot of unwritten rules that need to be followed? 5. How many other people will be there? 6. Is it easy to interact with the people who will be there? 7. How noisy, visually stimulating and generally chaotic will it be? 8. How long will the activity last? 9. Does the setting fit the activity? 10. Is he tired, hungry or sick?
- Also consider * Enjoyment, *Performance, *Behavior, *Stress
- Maybe you can: *Make the situation shorter. * Choose a peer that's easy to work with. * Change the location. * Do it when the child is rested. * Choose a less crowded place. *Choose a time that will be best for child and less stimulating.
- You can possibly make Rule Cards also that state "rules" or things you want to work on that are out for the child to see and "remind the child" like 3x5 cards. If they are younger you can decorate them or put their favorite hero or idol on them and have the hero or idol "talking"
- One form of power cards can be like in story form with "hero or idol" being the subject of story.. Like: Sammy the cat goes to school, just like you! He also goes to art class, just like you! Sammy wants you to have as much fun as he does in art class so he wants you to remember to do the following:
1. Find your seat an sit down.
2. Keep your stress ball in your hand.
3. Do not hit/touch other children.
Sammy the cat is very proud of you when you remember to do these 3 things. - Or if you want a more simple basic Power Card, then you can just put in bold basic words: Remember:
1. Do not pick nose.
2. Do not hands/fingers in mouth.
3. Do not touch/hit other children. - Converstation Starters:
Things to talk about:
1. Yesterday's snowstorm.
2. The joke about the horse that Mom told you.
3. The football game on the radio last night. - You can have some Social Scripts practiced so the child knows what to say in social situations to make it less stressful like:
* Can I play with you guys?
* That was a good turn.
* Wow! You can really jump!
* Next time I will do better. - OR a script like this longer one:
-Hi (peer's name) How are you?
-Did you see (TV show) last night?
-What did you think was funny?
-I liked it when everyone fell in the pool.
*A more complete script like this one would require that you have someone who expects to be engaged and is willing to participate. - Cartooning can be used to:
1. Explain idioms
2. Help students understand that thoughts and feelings are different.
3. Help to interpret social situations. - Incentives and Rewards:
1. First, find activities that are rewarding!
2. For the child who would really rather not be with others... you may want to find an incentive of reward:
*Extra video, T.V. time
* Fries on the way home
* Few minutes extra play time before bed.
* Points toward a reward system. - THREE GOALS for the adult who is monitoring a child in a challenging social situation
1. When things are going well, stand back and let it be!!
2. Prevent significant problems. Preferable to err on the side of preventing rather than having to pick up the pieces later.
3. Minimize the extent of adult interventions. Always look for ways to reduce the adult role. - Resources she had:
Power Cards by Elisa Gagnon
The Hidden Curriculum by Brenda Smith Myles
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October's Meeting was by Ann and Sandi from Family Resource Network (FRN)
- It was on Paren't Support.
- They talked about FRN and what it has to offer and thier website at www.frcn.org
- Project PEP which stands for Positive, Empowering Parents. Series of workshops for parents of Special Needs kids from ages 3-10 & who receive services at Valley Mountain Regional Center.
- Sibling Support and Sib Shops. Sib shops are from ages 7-13.
- Sibling support on the internet at www.siblingsupport.org
- Grandparent's Issues: Grandparent's raising Grandchildrents. For support go to www.grandfamilies.org www.aarp.org/grandparents, www.autismdigest.com
- Look into Respite: Call Valley Mountain Resource Center or Family and youth Services of SJC. www.fayssjc.org
- Financial Issues:
FRN's Financial and Estate Planning have a workshop on Nov 10th, 2009.
at SJCOE. You can also contact SSI and DRAIL. You can also go to www.db101.org - Additional Resources:
FRN - 209 472 3874
AARP Grandparent HOTLINE 209 434 2296- Family Resource and Network 209 948 7553
- Family Crisis Line 877 643 4750 (24 hour line)
- Crisis Community Response 209 468 8686
- Child Protective Services 209 468 1333
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I hope these helped you and I hope to see you at the next CAC meeting. It WILL be a GREAT meeting! Bring a friend!!
Thanks,
Gina Marie
CAC Chairman/Parent Rep for New J and Banta
