Camp Confidence is an 8-week summer camp program designed to meet the developmental, social, and behavioral needs of children with PDD-NOS/Autism, speech and language delays, ADHD, cognitive delays and related challenges. Camp Confidence uses principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to targets skills by creating a motivating operation (reinforcing situation), reinforcing positive behavior and modifiying goals and objectives using data collection. Camp Confidence includes academic skills training in a 1:1 and 2:1 setting, social pragmatic groups, music therapy, speech therapy, APE/KidFit, yoga, cooking classes, and team-building groups targeting communication and group skills. Children will be carefully placed in clinically-sound small groups to enhance their experience.
Program goals:
- Increase social/pragmatic skills
- Increase communication skills
- Develop independent indoor and outdoor play skills.
- Decrease problem behaviors functioning as task avoidance, attention seeking and self-stimulating.
- Academic skills (math, reading, writing)
- Direct Instruction using Language for Learning, Language for Thinking, SRA Reading Mastery and Distar Math
Children served:
Camp Confidence is designed for children and teens aged 3-12 whose diagnoses may include PDD-NOS/Autism, speech and language delays, ADHD, cognitive delays and related challenges.
Students are grouped based the following 6 components:
1) Expressive and Receptive Language Skills
2) Social abilities
3) Independent and Group Play Skills
4) Behavior
5) Cooperation
6) Age (within1.5 years of peers in group)
Staffing:
- Groups contain 4-6 students and 2-3 staff. Staff ratio is 2:1
Assessment and Goals:
Once enrolled in the program each student will be assessed to determine what goals/objectives are best suited for the student. The ABLLS: Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills is an assessment, curriculum guide, and skills tracking system for children with developmental, cognitive, social and/or language delays. The ABBLS contains a task analysis of the many skills necessary to communicate successfully and to learn from everyday experiences. The purpose of this assessment is to help identify those language and other critical skills that are in need of intervention in order for a child to become more capable of learning. The ABBLS scores help to determine educational priorities, and to help with the selection of appropriate educational objectives for an individual child. By the third session the student's his/her lead therapist will screen them using the social and play components of the ABLLS. Based on that screening the therapist will develop individualized goals for each student.
Parent Feedback and Training:
Once the student's goals are developed the parent will receive a copy of the goals. The lead therapist will be collecting data on each goal frequently during each session. Parents will receive periodic session notes summarizing how their child is performing and what his/her current strengths and weaknesses are. In addition, parents will receive suggestions for generalizing their child's goals outside-of the program. Parents are welcome to set-up a time to observe their child in a session and to meet with their child's lead therapist.
Additional Information:
Dates: July 5-August 26, 2011
Times: Afternoons 1-4pm
Children must attend for a minimum of two weeks