June 2011 Session 1

Hi Parents,

We’re in the process of winding down for a bit.  June is going to be our last month for a couple of months and then we’ll start up again in September.  

Today, we had a small turnout, but it was great.  Five kids came and we went to the park.  This meant that they shopped for their snacks and we did picnic-style under a tree when we got to the Libbitt Park. 

We brought Frisbees, balls, and paddles (Velcro-kind) and your kids played together.  

One child, JK, practiced throwing a Frisbee and simply got better and better at it to the point that he was catching it and throwing it with ease, something that had been more difficult for him in the beginning.  Other kids catch and practiced their throwing and catching skills.  With JW, I noticed more that the other kids were getting rewarded when he stood away from them and spent more time with them.  Also, when he said he was tired and because we identified that he had inadvertently switched hands between paddle and ball; once we put them back on the correct hands, he suddenly was no longer tired and played with the others. 

AH earned points for being compliant the first time and not showing any hesitation.   VN practiced pragmatic conversations with others.  Finally, CS practiced playing catch and working on his throwing arm, as well as conversations.  Time seemed to pass quickly for them.  Sophie came along for the ride and kids practiced giving her commands and also actually learning to treat her more as a dog.  I was surprised how many of them did not really know ways to pet her or get her to be more playful or reactive.  In the beginning, AH was the only child initially to bring LUNCH Points certificates and he chose another child, VN, to play the Wii. 

Two of the other kids initially had Sophie up in a chair and practiced their “bean bag throwing skills” with Sophie serving as the target.  She enjoyed that immensely.  All in all, a fun time. 

We have one more time in group and then it’s summer time for a couple of months. 

All the best.

Bruce

May 2011 Session 1

So, Parents,

Did I ever mention that I'm not personally the biggest fan of mini-golf?  But, it's a rite of passage.  There will be birthday parties, teens like to do, plus it's so convenient.  In addition, it is an easy and great way to help kids focus on their executive functioning skills.  Rather than whacking the ball to and fro, we focus on helping them to position themselves, hold their hands in a reasonable putting position, keep score, and compliment/pay attention to others.

I would liked to have started earlier in the session, but it was simply too hot out for your kids to play.  So, we gave out tokens for the arcade games, and those went quickly.  For the second round of tokens, we required them to play with another child or watch in order to avoid them spending their tokens (quickly) in the machines that act like a very quick game of roulette.

One minor crisis, but it resolved, thankfully.  Our procedure in public places is that we initially attend to the exits.  Stasi was at the front exit from the time we entered, and I knew there weren't any children behind me at the entrance to the min-golf leading from the arcade.  So theoretically, it shouldn't be possible to misplace a child, they're all there right in front of me.  We had eight kids tonight and both Stasi and I continually count to ensure we have everyone.  Suddenly, there were only seven.  Stasi remained at the front while I circled around, unsuccessfully, looking for the child and calling his name.  I check the boy's restroom, no luck, at which point I began to develop a slight feeling of panic.  I informed the staff at Castle Park we had a missing child and continued calling his name.

Finally, we located him, after repeatedly calling his name loudly, discovering him glued to a television set in the darkened corner where he couldn't easily be seen.  He had only been ten feet away and hadn't gone anywhere inappropriate, but the not responding was unexpected and threw me off.  Fortunately, it was all over in a matter of a few minutes, but this is exactly the kind of thing I work so hard to avoid.  After that we had them remain in pairs for the rest of the time they were in the arcade the rest of the outing proceeded uneventfully.

During mini-golf we assigned team captains who both selected their teams and kept score.  This worked out quite well.  Having them write down the players' scores and initially, making sure they kept track of who had which colored golf ball was a useful exercise.

It took a few holes for the group members to develop sufficient cohesion to function as a group of players, but for the most part the change was evident in both their body language and their interest in each others' playing.

The game, however took a really long time, slightly over an hour.  As a result, there wasn't really time to sit and have a snack as planned, so we rushed them through getting bags of chips for those who wanted them.  The second team wasn't fully able to finish, but by skipping a couple of holes at the end they were able to putt into the 18th hole.

The group ended on a positive note, although it was a little more rushed than I would have liked.  The main tasks: working and cooperating in a group, using good sportsmanship, staying safe, and generally building group cohesion, all were important areas of focus.

We will be soliciting feedback from your children at the next parent meeting, as well as parent feedback. There will be an online telemeeting as well.  I am also looking into the idea of having a working parent meeting to review behavioral procedures that we use in the group plus to provide more detailed information about how I view your kids in terms of areas to target and what interventions to use.

Bruce

Nov 2010 Session 1

Hi Parents,

Well, tonight worked out all right, but it certainly did not begin that way.  Cynthia, who runs the group with me suddenly wasn't feeling well and could not come in.  Since tonight was the scheduled parent meeting (our first in the office), I tried to get a last minute backup, but couldn't find anyone on such short notice.  So, as you know, we postponed the parent meeting until next time (11/16) when the meeting will be at 5pm.

Meanwhile, since your kids were supposed to have a meal tonight while we met, we tried Rosti, which is just down the street.  Being with 7 of your kids made me feel as though I was on "extra alert," although they were extremely safe in crossing and walking.

At the restaurant (which by the way had great kid's meals) they practiced manners while ordering and eating, not starting to eat food that might be too hot, and balancing eating and conversations.  I allowed them to have sodas, and even though I reminded them that they would be switching to water for re-fills, a couple of them finished their sodas right away.  What was nice was that it was their peers who reminded them about the "water rule" rather than me.

Back in the office, three of the kids had LUNCH Points and two of them wanted to play Wii.  One clever Alumni member asked that, since Cynthia wasn't here tonight, perhaps he could watch them (ND).  I let him konw that it wasn't necessary, but thanked him.  All of the kids earned raffle tickets for their behaviors.  AE worked on not "blotting" his pizza to remove the oil from the cheese excessively and being directed where to put his napkin when done. We also reviewed rules on passing food, i.e., you pass the basket of bread, not the bread itself to others; ND was overreacting a little to others, nothing extreme, but he worked on speaking to them in a more calm tone of voice.  AH worked on general manners, which were pretty decent to begin with and conversations, plus listening to directions the first time.  MM worked on effective conversation, continuing to show nice increases in how loud and clear her voice was.  CS worked a little on manners and conversations with others, JW worked on manners, figuring out what to do with his napkin, and paying attention, and finally GU practiced learning to "twirl" his spaghetti, effective conversation, and picking the right time to speak to others.

We watched a brief Pink Panther (old style) cartoon from You Tube with a twist.  At each scene change, when something was about to happen, I stopped it and asked them to predict what would occur, offering a Hero ticket for correct guesses.  They were surprisingly enthusiastic about this.

Parents picked up all of their kids within five minutes of the pick up time.  Thank you so much!

See you in two weeks and we will plan to have our parent meeting in the office at that time.

Bruce

Oct 2010 - Session 1

Hi parents,

Last night we had all the kids except one. We begin the session by going into Gelsons market and the kids shopped for “walking snacks.” Our planned activities was then to go to Office Depot where the kids were instructed that they each could spend up to five dollars. We carefully explained the five dollars meant $5.00, not $5.03 or $5.28. They were informed that they had to pay attention to the price of the item and that, if they did not know what it was, they could ask us and we would tell them. However, if they selected an item that was over five dollars they would lose the ability to purchase anything. Also, we explained that the item they chose would be subject to counselor approval.

It was interesting to watch your kids walking around, trying to make a decision. We let them know that they could look at an item and even take it with them and walk around and look for other items. In essence, it was a shopping training exercise. There was no whining, no begging, but some of your kids had an extraordinarily difficult time making up their mind to make a purchase.  Some of the kids who successfully made purchases acted as models. I let the kids know they had 20 min. to make the decision and then gave them an additional 5 min after that. Four out of the seven kids were able to make purchases such as a colorful desk scotch tape dispenser, flashlights, colored pencils, and other similar school supplies. Some of the kids were disappointed that they could not purchase “toys” but I explained this was not a toy store rather a supply store. Similarly we did not allow kids to purchase candy. A couple of the kids who were unable to make a decision by the end of the time were clearly disappointed, but did not make too big a deal out of it and we moved on from there and returned to the office.

Once back in the office I let them know that Sophie was here asked if they wanted me to let her out from her kennel. Most indicated “yes,” and Sophie came out surprisingly calmly and walked in a counterclockwise circle, pausing from child to child. She did her little “sit up in the chair" trick and a couple of your kids practiced giving her commands. One of the nice things about this exercise is, for children who speak more softly, it gives them an opportunity in a nonthreatening way for them to raise their voice volume and speak more assertively.

Our final activity of the session involved reviewing the LUNCH Points program, updating the video tutorial (which will be used for all three groups), however we did not get to have your children identify their own “special behavior.” This is the one behavior they think is most and port to focus on and, when you choose this behavior, it gives them extra raffle ticket points.  You access the program clicking on www.lunchgroups.com, then Current Families, then LUNCH Points, and finally on Enter LUNCH Points.  There is also a form to use manually if you do not have a computer.

I inadvertently misplaced my dictation notes from last session and will get that up here as soon as I can find. Meanwhile, my goal is to have all blogs up within 48 hours of the time group.

We meet again on October 19. Also, there will be a parent dinner during the fourth week of October. Our first parent meeting in the office will occur in November. If you have any comments or questions please feel free to contact me.

Best wishes,

Bruce

August 2010 - Session 2

Too hot! Taking kids to the park in 95 degree heat did not seem like a good idea. They opted for smoothies from Jamba Juice.

After Jamba Juice, they learned how to play "Bananagrams," and reviewed the basic rules. Then, to speed things along, we played a version call "Banana Cafe," which doesn't have as many special conditions.  It was helpful to see how they approached spelling and the strategy and organization of the game.  Each wanted to trade in their letters way too early and we strategized how else to handle it.  AH tried inventive ways of putting words together, but seem "stuck" on trying for specific words rather than using his available letters.  At the end each was successful in putting together fairly large crossword puzzles (these photos are from their first attempts).

Sophie joined again today and was reasonably well behaved, barking a little too much until she went quietly into her kennel in the office.

After we finished Banana Cafe, it was time for our first raffle.  Because we have a very small group at the moment, I opted to have them discuss what they had learned about each other as a way of earning a gift card.  It was interesting that the kids today both wanted the same reward, but there was only one of that kind (Target Gift Card).  So, we flipped a coin.  RD was disappointed that she lost the coin toss, but handled it, earning an extra "Hero" ticket for controlling herself.

We will start the LUNCH Points program next meeting, in September.  Sorry for the delay, but because there are a fair number of kids joining then, it just makes the logistics of the program work better.  We'll also start having parent meetings in September (we meet on the 7th and again on the 21st).  More about that to be announced next week.

Have a great rest of the summer.  We are currently expecting about 7 more kids to start in September, so the group will ramp up pretty quickly.

August 2010 - Session 1

We had our second meeting today.  Currently we are completing “end of summer group” reports for both kids and teens.  Some of them will likely join this group, most likely by early September.  We also have a couple of kids who are currently on vacation and should be back later this month.  But, for now, it’s enjoyable having a few kids, who are all new to the program, working together.

Today shopping occurred at Gelsons, this time for ingredients so we could return to the office and jointly make a “smoothy.”  The recipe that developed included mixed frozen berries, vanilla yogurt, and apple juice.  Judging by how quickly it disappeared, they enjoyed it.

The rest of the time was spent learning a bit more about animations get developed; the group watched one from the current kid/tween summer group, and learned how we can make Sophie sound like a leopard (dubbed sound effect).  They learned how the LUNCH Points raffle works and had an opportunity to select their own “secret behavior” that, when they receive a LUNCH Points certificate for that behavior from their parent, they earn bonus tickets for the raffle.  Click above at the top to view the tutorial.

That pretty well used up our time for today.  Most likely, next time we will spend some time at a nearby park.  We usually bring Frisbees, some other catching games, and take our snack with us so we can have it “picnic style.”  So far, the main areas that we are working on include conversations, perspective-taking and awareness of others, and reading social cues.  It may be the small numbers, but there simply are no (as in zero) significantly interfering behaviors to address at present.  Did I mention how polite they are?  I really hope this is contagious.  See you later in the month.

July 2010 - Session 1

Okay... where did these amazing kids come from?  They showed up for the very first meeting of the 8 to 11 year kids LUNCH Group and they were... polite to each others, used great manners in Gelsons when we went for a snack, tried new foods, and created the healthy snack you see at the right.

We had only three kids today, two were missing, but it was a nice introduction.  They selected nicknames, which we use to whenever a project goes up on the Internet.

Also, they had a chance to meet Sophie, rewarded her for doing tricks, had a chance to try out avatars, look at animation, and create a (very) short cartoon/picture (sun below). Finally, the kids learned about the LUNCH Points Program, which is how they earn certificates in between meetings which are good for raffle tickets and a chance to play on the Wii, and special prizes.

In all, it was a highly successful first meeting.  We've been receiving calls from other interested families and hope to have the group up to ten participants by September.  It is likely that some of the kids who are currently in our summer program will transition to this one.

Look forward to seeing your kids in August.  Remember, we meet the first and third Tuesday of the month, from 3:45pm - 6:pm.