Camp Huntington, a 52-year provider of summer camp programming for individuals with developmental disabilities, is happy to announce a new program: Weekend Camp. It’s an exciting new addition to our long-running summer programs and will enjoy our same unique philosophy and mission. Campers and staff all experience the “Huntington Spirit,” a positive and enthusiastic reaction to our combination of a therapeutic camp environment with acquiring goals, along with excellently trained and supervised staff, providing loving and nurturing care.
The population we serve, individuals aged 6-22 years, with a wide range of different developmental disabilities, spend the summer engaged in fun activities such as arts and crafts, sports, drama, music and swimming. It’s important to note that we welcome back campers who exceed the 22 year age limit and choose to continue attending our program. The program differs from other camps for many reasons; activities such as cooking and functional academics are offered, and each individual camper has specific goals (social, academic and daily living) that come from home and/or school which are worked on daily. The staff are trained to work with our unique population, with a primary emphasis on safety. We also attend to increasing independence and skill development, while decreasing undesirable behaviors, all in a setting that differs from home and school and focuses on generalization and maintenance.
“Our child made such large strides this summer; is much more independent; happy; well-behaved; expressive; relaxed,” are common comments heard from many happy parents. Over the years many parents have asked if we could offer programming during the year. Starting September 2014 we will be offering Weekend Camp programs throughout the year, including a 5-day break over the New Year Holidays and a week-long Spring Break program.
Weekend Camp will offer a slightly different program design than our summer program. Our summer programs focus on both large and small group activities, increasing socialization and being part of a larger Camp Huntington family.
Weekend programs will begin with a smaller group format that is designed on:
– working together,
– emphasizing community skills,
– cooperation, and
– socialization.
We’ve limited enrollment to for Weekend Camp to 14 campers to start, growing the program each year. Weekend Camp will focus on family and group living, with a large focus on being a responsible part of a group and living with others. These skills are important, as many of our campers age-out of school programs and transition to group homes or other residential programs. Weekend campers will be involved in all aspects of their stay; preparing meals, setting the table and cleaning up after themselves, making their beds, cleaning the communal areas, and generally being a productive part of their community. This natural setting will offer great practice opportunities to hone important skills and discover new ones.
Each weekend will involve a community outing, which is usually dependent on the theme of the weekend. The first weekend (September 26th-28th) is All About Apples! We will go apple picking on Saturday, and decide what delicious apple dessert to make as a group for Saturday dinner! We plan on utilizing many different community settings throughout the year; (the local YMCA, bowling alleys, malls, local farms, etc.) and will use these field trips to continue to work on community and vocational skills such as communicating with community helpers, using money, and time management.
Register now on their website and request information there as well: http://www.camphuntington.com/weekend-camp-program/ or call toll-free at : 855-707-2267. Listen to our podcast with Mike Bednarz, Executive Director, Camp Huntington, by clicking here.
To listen or download episodes of our special needs podcast series on iTunes, click here. If this article of interest to you? If so, please LIKE our Facebook Page by clicking here.
By Casey Schmalacker, Academic Coach, New Frontiers in Learning
The academic experience is one wrought with change and obstacles that can cause high levels of stress in students. When stress is not contained, it may negatively affect learning by impairing information retention and recall. This can be especially true for students experiencing prolonged stress as a result of the rigors of the academic school year.
Students with learning differences may experience a variety of stressors that can disrupt a successful academic experience. For example, students with ADHD may struggle with impulsivity, leading to poor decision-making and heightened stress. Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders may have trouble making social connections, leaving students feeling isolated and with increased anxiety. Even though students may experience higher levels of stress, their ability to learn should not be determined by this. Success in school can be affected by a student’s ability to cope with higher levels of stress. It is important to examine the various types of stress, the resources necessary for proper coping skills, and the actual processes for coping.
Stress can be categorized into past, present, and future stressors. Because of the ability to affect outcomes, present stress is the most important stress on which to concentrate. Past stress, such as a poor grade on an exam or a poor experience in a social setting, is no longer in one’s control, and, as the saying goes, “What is done is done.” Future stress has several variables surrounding it that is out of one’s control. By focusing on future stress, the unknown and unexpected can cause even more anxiety and stress. Unlike past and future stressors, present stress can be identified and managed in the moment. This sense of control is called a stressor’s amenability to change. Understanding the various types of stress allows students, parents, and teachers to provide the best advice on helping students to manage stressors.
Identifying stress is only the first step in the coping process. In order to fully manage stress, individuals need to utilize coping processes. These processes first require a foundation of coping resources.
There are four main categories of coping resources:
1) Optimism,
2) Control or Mastery,
3) Self Esteem, and
4) Social Support.
Students with various learning differences may lack in these four resources, which in turn may account for their higher levels of stress. Optimism is explained as an individual’s view that “Good things rather than bad things will happen to the self” (Taylor, Stanton, 2007, p.380). Personal Control over a situation is the view that an individual can affect and influence outcomes. Having a High Self Esteem is another coping resource that leads to “lower autonomic and cortisol stress responses,” or less intense episodes of stress. Educators and families many times understand the importance of high self-esteem, but understanding its importance as a foundation for coping with stress is essential. Social Support is understood as, “The perception or experience that one is loved and cared for by others, esteemed and valued, and part of a social network of mutual assistance and obligations” (Taylor, Stanton, 2007, p.381). By having a social support network, individuals may experience less intense and shorter lasting episodes of anxiety.
Students with learning differences can lack in one, some, or even all of the above coping resources. There are varied forms of treatment that can be used to help bolster some of these resources in students, but one area that can be directly supported by families and educators is a strong social support system.
Coping Processes can be understood as the implementation of the coping resources to overcome potential stressors in life. These processes are broken down based upon their focus. The three main categories of coping processes are:
1) Emotion Focused,
2) Problem Focused, and
3) Avoidance/Approach Oriented.
Emotion Focused coping concentrates on “Palliating event-related distress,” or altering the emotional response to various stressors. This process focuses on accepting stress for what it is and developing more productive means for responding to this stress. Problem Focused coping looks to resolve the stressful situation. This process looks to overcome the stress so as to remove its source. Finally, the third process is a range of options that can include the previous two processes. Avoidance/Approach Oriented coping is a variety of techniques that either look to deal with the stress head on or attempt to find means to avoiding the stress. Examples of approach-oriented coping include: Problem solving, seeking social support, or the creation of outlets for emotional expression. Avoidance techniques are means to avoiding stressors to prevent the negative reaction.
These processes have a variety of uses in different situations. Understanding the various aspects of stress, the methods and means of coping, and how that coping actually occurs, allows individuals to begin the process of developing systems to overcome these stressors. This can encourage students to reach their fullest potential without stress and anxiety becoming an academic obstacle.
References
Taylor, S., & Stanton, A. (2007). Coping resources, coping processes, and mental health. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 3, 377-401.
New Frontiers in Learning (www.nfil.net) is a high school and college support program for students with varied learning differences. New Frontiers provides coaching and tutoring services to students in the Westchester, Long Island, and New York City areas, allowing students to apply for and attend colleges based on their plan of study or personal campus preferences. For more information, please contact Samantha Feinman, Program Director, at (646)558-0085 or sfeinman@nfil.net.
Was this article of interest to you? If so, please LIKE our Facebook Page by clicking here.
Our guest bloggers this month are Casey Schmalacker, Academic Coach and Samantha Feinman, MS.Ed., TSSH., Program Director at New Frontiers in Learning. This is part two of a two-part series (click here to read part 1).
Utilizing Technology for High School and College Students – Smart Pens, Tablets, and Word Prediction Software:
The benefits of assistive technology cannot be underscored; however, all assistive technology will not necessarily benefit all students. It is important to find the right systems to help each student’s individual needs. In order to maximize the benefits, it is important to research the different technological resources available. Below are three examples of how assistive technology can be utilized to overcome academic hurdles: Smart Pens, Tablets, and Word Prediction Software.
Tablets and Computers
With the advancement of technology, hand held computers are becoming more common. The use of these hand-held devices is slowly permeating into the academic field, finding particular use for students with ASD. Independent developers can create applications to address specific needs, but the digital aspect of reading materials is one of the most important benefits of these new devices. These devices can address fundamental difficulties a student may face, such as fine motor difficulties affecting the ability to turn the pages of a book. By utilizing a tablet, the frustration that manifests from these complications can be avoided (Stachowiak, 2010). Further, digital copies of lecture materials allow students to manipulate these notes in ways that can be beneficial. This can include, but is not limited to, increasing text size, color coding, sharing of notes, or incorporating supplemental notes or comments (Stachowiak, 2010). Digital books allow for a seamless experience for reading, allowing students to have all of their books in one place, along with supportive resources such as a dictionary, thesaurus, and online search engines.
Smart Pen
Assistive technology is extremely important for students that struggle with content heavy courses. Many times, ineffective listening skills and poor note-taking skills are the primary obstacles preventing comprehension of class lectures (Boyle, 2010). Smart Pens can be utilized to alleviate such hurdles. A Smart Pen is “a pen that contains a recording device, which when used with its accompanying notebook, links written notes to what was recorded at the time the note was written” (Stachowiak, 2010, p.5). As students are taking notes, the pen matches up the location of the notes to the time of the lecture, allowing students to review the contents of the lecture in tandem with specific locations in their notes. This allows students to supplement their notes with portions of the lecture they may have missed or misunderstood. The audio files can be transferred to the computer, in order to make a more seamless experience of reviewing notes. Further, research has demonstrated that classrooms who share Smart Pen audio files online tend to have lower numbers of accommodation requests for notes and note takers (Stachowiak, 2010).
Word Prediction
Word prediction technology is found as a feature in many computer word processing programs today. These programs, such as Co:Writer, provide students with a list of up to thirty possible target words after typing the initial letters of the word they are attempting to express. This software assists individuals in the writing process by changing the concentration from the physical activity of typing to the mental activity of processing and planning which words to use to express thoughts. The use of word prediction has led to an increase in the fluency and quality of students’ written work (Peterson-Karlan, 2011). Word prediction can support word retrieval issues, spelling difficulties, and writing breakdowns, and has been found to increase content legibility, spelling accuracy, and writing efficiency (Handley-More, Deitz, Billingsley, and Coggins, 2003; Evmenova, Graff, Jerome, & Behrmann, 2010). Additionally, the results of a study conducted by Mirenda and Turoldo (2006) found that students using word prediction software led to an increase in writing stamina and a decrease in writing frustration. By removing the distraction of spelling errors and the frustration of the mechanics of writing by hand, there is an increased emphasis on content, allowing students to maintain focus on the topic at hand.
Using assistive technology to support individuals with ASD helps to overcome the limitations that have made academic success elusive for students in the past. It is important to start using technology to support learning in college while students are still in high school, as the work is more manageable and allows time to master the technologies, leading to improved preparation for the higher demands of college level curriculum. Getting systems of assistive technology put in place as early as possible will allow for higher levels of academic independence as the road to college approaches.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Samantha Feinman, Program Director, New Frontiers in Learning at sfeinman@nfil.net. This is part two of a two-part series (click here to read part 1).
Was this article of interest to you? If so, please LIKE our Facebook Page by clicking here.
Utilizing Technology for High School and College Students: Part 1of 2
As we move through this digital age, students in high school and college are increasingly using technology as a mechanism to support learning. Technology can be used in a multitude of ways, ranging from electronic organizational systems and digital reminders, to supporting more complex academic tasks through the use of computer software. Assistive technology, specifically, has been infused into the daily schedules of students with disabilities to support the removal of learning barriers that some individuals may face. Among students utilizing assistive technology to improve academic learning, high school and college students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in particular have increasingly incorporated the use of technology into the learning environment.
Assistive technology consists of services and devices that provide equal education opportunities to students with disabilities by providing supports that focus on individual-specific needs. Assistive technology has been used to improve skills in areas such as note-taking, reading comprehension, and expository and narrative writing. Such tasks are integral to the academic experience, in that a student’s ability to excel in these areas most often is directly related to their level of success. This article will discuss why assistive technology is necessary for students with ASD transitioning from high school to college, as well as outline three forms of effective assistive technology, and how one would incorporate such technology into the learning environment.
Research has demonstrated that the use of computers has resulted in the improvement of the skills of students with ASD in a variety of different areas, such as attention, fine motor, and generalization (Habash, 2005). Improvement of skills is many times the desirable goal, and therefore technology can act as a means to accommodating specific deficits that prevent goal attainment.
In order to achieve success in the high school and college arenas, students need to be able to access supports to successfully comprehend large amounts of reading material and class lecture and discussion, as well as write at a much more independent and sophisticated level. When students demonstrate weaknesses in these areas, they are unable to demonstrate their maximum potential, and their work may become an inaccurate representation of their true capabilities. Assistive technology can begin to bridge the gap between student obstacles and the execution of their academic responsibilities.
Developing strategies and systems for use with assistive technology is important to master during high school so students can effectively deploy the technologies at the college level. The college work environment has a few fundamental differences from high school that can increase the difficulty level, especially for students with ASD. Class time at universities is devoted to many more lectures, requiring vigorous note-taking on course content that, many times, is important to know for exams, class projects, and discussion. Sometimes the material covered in class is not covered anywhere else (i.e., textbook, PowerPoint slides, handouts, etc.), requiring techniques to ensure all material is accessible by the student. Outside of the classroom, reading materials tend to also become more taxing, covering abstract topics that can be difficult to understand. As opposed to reading simply for content, there is an increased emphasis of being able to analyze readings. Further, while high school classes tend to provide guided questions to lead the student through the readings, college classes tend to rely on the student to identify key topics and themes.
The fundamental changes above can seem hard to manage; however, by establishing assistive technology supports while still in high school, such transitions can be managed in a much more efficient manner. Creating a course of action is important for students with ASD because environmental changes may lead to high levels of stress that can drastically affect a student’s ability to participate and succeed in the learning environment.
This two-part blog series will include examples of how technology can be used to support students with ASD in the learning environment with a focus specifically on supporting students at the high school and college levels. Look forward to spotlights on Tablets and Computers, Smart Pens, and Word Prediction Software.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Samantha Feinman, Program Director, New Frontiers in Learning at sfeinman@nfil.net.
