School Year Kids/Teens 09-10 - Session 10

Hi, Parents:

Tonight, the kids did a couple of things. Well, they did more than a couple of things. They came into the waiting room, and, rather than them using magazines, I asked everyone to put magazines down, and everybody but two children (KK and SB) complied. We talked about things that they had been doing as they came over from Gelson’s market, and what they had been doing there in the room. Most of the kids received blue tickets for either walking over in a relaxed way, talking with others, talking with staff, listening while others were talking, and other socially appropriate behaviors. Similarly, they earned tickets for having conversations or paying attention while they were in the office. One of the things that happened tonight was that there was simply a lot of laughing and good-natured interaction going on.

We transitioned from the waiting room to the training room, and all of the kids participated in continuing our movie-making exercise. (You may remember that we shot video of several kids describing the best thing they had done during the past year.) Now, those kids who did not participate had an opportunity either to make sound effects, applaud, or otherwise show their appreciation. I also showed them a little bit about video editing and “snipping off” parts of a video that you don’t want to include. The parallel to this, by the way, is to snip out or edit parts of conversation that you would rather not occur.

So, then it was off to our Japanese restaurant, Octopus, where the kids took about ten minutes to get there. One child, JH, arrived at group late and was not in a good mood. I stayed behind with him and another child, AB, who had been using the restroom. JH was socially inappropriate with his language on the way over, and, at one point, walked away from me a few feet and stepped about 1/4 of a foot into the curb as a truck was making a right turn. I immediately yelled at him at the top of my voice to freeze, and he did so and immediately came back to me. He then complied, for the remainder of the trip, with requests that I made, and, when I told him that he could earn hero tickets for controlling himself, at first he didn’t, but then, fairly immediately (within three minutes) calmed down. He also chose to sit at a table by himself, but then eventually joined the others. The rest of the group was tolerant of his behavior, and, for the most part, ignored it.

Many kids displayed appropriate eating, conversation and other behaviors. CJ and EY were sitting near each other, and appeared to enjoy their interaction, as did EM. SB only asked about going home, and whether the food was gluten-free, on a couple of occasions. ND, SW, SB, QM and AJ all appeared to be enjoying their conversations as they banded together. GU gave advice to EM about what to order, and she had a form of Udon. It was very hot, and I showed her how to cool it off, and also how to take out the noodles so it was not so hot for her. Many of the kids tried seaweed for the first time (the paper type that goes around sushi rolls) and many of them said that they enjoyed it. Overall, it was a relaxed, if slightly noisy, interaction. We hurried back, and everybody kept up and followed directions, and appeared to have had a good time.

In all likelihood, we will have next group meeting at either a barbeque or we will go to the park. Thanks for everything. Contact me if you have any questions or comments.

School Year Kids/Teens 09-10 - Session 9

Tonight was a combined kid and parent group. Because last time the presence of siblings proved to be intrusive for the group members, however unintentional, we originally requested that siblings not attend. Of course, that didn’t go as planned. Families informed us that they might not be able to attend if they weren’t able to bring siblings. That’s fine; we try to be accommodating, and it is certainly understandable. So, I assigned one of my staff to wait with the siblings at Gelson’s market in the outdoor area (new fireplace!) while the group members were in the office participating in the raffle. This worked pretty smoothly. A total of four siblings were supervised while they participated, and the kids’ behavior was much less disruptive than was the case last time.

Two group attendees, AB and EY, did not attend tonight, and one family called in. We instituted a new procedure where we allowed “raffle by proxy.” This meant that the one child whom we knew was sick (EY) was able to participate by phone and selected the prize she wanted to have, which she will receive next meeting. A prize was selected by a counselor for the other child (AB), and that will be held for him as well.

The kids participated in a movie project, where they talked about “best thing that happened to me this year…” and described it. You would think that this would have gone simply, but it didn’t. One child (SW) was unhappy that he would not be able to talk about his birthday, an upcoming event. Another child broadened it considerably and thanked his mother for giving birth to him. However, with modeling, positive practice and behavioral rehearsal, the majority of group members effectively participated in this activity. Several opted out and were told that they would be able to participate in sound effects and transitions for the second half of this particular exercise. Whenever possible, I try to make sure that every child feels included, and not every child feels comfortable talking in front of the camera. In any case, it was a good experience for them and seemed to go over well.

Sophie the Samoyed made a return appearance to group, and was both well behaved and well received. She seems to have a natural ability to know which children to go up to and which to leave alone (and the same was true for the parents). She is not disruptive in the meeting; however she can be an “attractive nuisance,” for the children to ignore. This means that the kids need to ignore her presence while they are listening or interacting. Sophie does her part by just sitting or lying down quietly, so it is up to the kids to be able to inhibit and filter their responses.

The group went over to Gelson’s market for dinner, and did their usual shopping, where they have opportunities to share. One child who had started off having a very difficult time (JH) was able to hold it together very well. He was told that he could get the 2 1/2 serving Gatorade if he wanted, but he had to drink only half of it. JH was agreeable to this, and did not present behavioral challenges throughout the remainder of the group session.

The parent meeting commenced promptly at a few minutes after 6:00. We had an excellent turnout; one of our best. We went over kids’ behaviors, talked briefly about LUNCH Points and how only some of the kids are earning them (encouraging all parents to participate in this program) and finally addressed individual parent questions for the remainder of the time. You could barely hear the kids, who were in the adjoining room, participating in the raffle. It made for a very full evening.

We have another parent meeting in two months, and there will be a parent meeting the second week in April, with a final parent dinner in June. Thanks to everyone, and see you at the next group.