I had my second training call with Julie last Wednesday, August 7th and it went very well. I finally feel ready to begin asking for Natural Play volunteers! I wanted Rachel and myself to do some experimenting with the Natural Play techniques first.
Rachel and I recorded each other playing with George and we sent Julie about 30 minutes worth of videos before the call. It was very helpful for Julie to see George in action and to discuss more effective ways that we can work with him in the playroom.
Below is one of the video's we sent to Julie. This one is an example of what Julie calls Recharging and Deepening. Before this clip I was Bridging and Exploring by joining him in his repetitive marble game. I did everything he did and observed and explored what I thought he might be getting out of it. At the same time I was getting into what he was doing. Like any healthy relationship, people take turns doing or discussing what the other person is interested in.
So, I played marbles long enough and told George I was taking a break. This models that I am taking care of myself as well. So I went over to look at a new book I had just received for him. As you watch notice how he started to watch me as I was focused on my book. Then HE joined me. Recharging and Deepening gives him a chance to initiate interaction with me and deepen our relationship. This is a good thing!
Rachel and I recorded each other playing with George and we sent Julie about 30 minutes worth of videos before the call. It was very helpful for Julie to see George in action and to discuss more effective ways that we can work with him in the playroom.
Below is one of the video's we sent to Julie. This one is an example of what Julie calls Recharging and Deepening. Before this clip I was Bridging and Exploring by joining him in his repetitive marble game. I did everything he did and observed and explored what I thought he might be getting out of it. At the same time I was getting into what he was doing. Like any healthy relationship, people take turns doing or discussing what the other person is interested in.
So, I played marbles long enough and told George I was taking a break. This models that I am taking care of myself as well. So I went over to look at a new book I had just received for him. As you watch notice how he started to watch me as I was focused on my book. Then HE joined me. Recharging and Deepening gives him a chance to initiate interaction with me and deepen our relationship. This is a good thing!
You will also notice him throw one of the marble pieces. He does this for visual stimulation or if he is frustrated or over excited. It is always an over the shoulder throw. He sees better using his peripheral vision and is weak in his central vision. Therefore, he plays with this weakness and tries to compensate for it. We will be working on ways to strengthen his central vision with some eye exercises.
In the meantime we don't react or "punish" this throwing. It is not a "behavioral" issue but him trying to take care of himself. If we do react negatively, it actually gets worse. I am choosing the path to accept him the way he is and trust that he is doing the best he can and will ask this attitude of my volunteers as well. I have noticed when I do this he actually does these behaviors less. I think he "feels" I am trying to help him. I have also learned to have quick reflexes. :)
This has been so freeing for me. Before I would look at his throwing, shaking, flapping or whatever and feel so bad because he looked so "autistic" doing it. Then I would stress that while he was doing this behavior he was regressing every minute as I had been told by certain professionals. I am not saying they are wrong in their experience, but I know for me it is not worth the stress it added to our family as we all scrambled to stop his behavior. However, like I said earlier, George does these behaviors LESS when we are LESS stressed. Less stress is a good thing!
One of my action steps that came from my call with Julie was to make a notebook for our Team Members that are working directly with George. Each team member will have a tab and they can write down their observations and experiences while working with George. Rachel and I are learning how make our own individual goals for George and what the progression steps would look like to get him to the goal. We will be helping volunteers to do this as well. The notebook is great because we can jot stuff down as we think of it and it can be shared with the team so that we may all benefit.
Another action step was for me to set up a day and time to have a volunteer informational meeting at my home. I have done that....ready or not. :) My meeting will be Friday August 23rd from 6:30-7:30 pm. This meeting is for anyone that may be interested in working with George and being part of his Natural Play Therapy team. No one has to commit at this meeting. It is for information. I want all my volunteers to be fully informed, so they can be sure it is a good fit for them. I do believe the experience will be very educational and have the ability to transfer to many areas of a persons life. Students will also benefit from having the experience to put on their resume someday. All ages are welcome, no experience is necessary. Training will be ongoing. We will learn little by little as we go following George's lead and Julie Sando's expertise.
If anyone knows someone who would be interested in coming to the informational meeting please email me and I will give you specific directions. For a general idea, we live 20 minutes north of Mt. Vernon, right off of highway 39. Email: love4George2013@gmail.com
