Hi, Parents:
The teen group tonight went smoothly. They started off by talking about where we would be going for dinner. When I mentioned that it was “Japanese Food,” everyone was pretty excited, except one of the group members, (EF), was very disappointed. Fortunately, she was able to problem solve and recover, and, after a period of time, was not only was participating in the group, but was able to successfully order things at dinner. For everybody else, I would say that they had some pretty creative menu ordering skills, when it comes to Japanese food. They were as, or more, adventurous than many adults.
Overall, our pattern of, when we do go to dinner, letting the kids pretty much be by themselves with me just kind of wandering around occasionally or sending a counselor to deal with a specific issue is how we’ve been handling things. But I would say that probably tonight, 80% of the time we monitored them, but left them on their own.
Prior to dinner, what we did was continue the exercise that the parents who came to the meeting last time saw of different students saying what their most enjoyable thing was over the last year. Most of them chose to participate, and, in fact, eleven total participated in making an on-camera fifteen second speech. What I had the group doing tonight was recording the applause and congratulations, but doing it so it’s like a post-editing project. They will have a chance to see how this looks in a subsequent meeting and then finalize it.
Other than that, some of the group members who weren’t able to come last time picked up their raffle prizes. And, overall, it was a smooth, enjoyable meeting, with lots of them earning tickets for good conversations. The average number of tickets earned tonight ranged between a high of four blue tickets for one individual, three hero tickets for the child who was able to calm down, and a smattering of tickets here and there. But, everyone earned at least some tickets.
So, having said that, overall it was a nice, enjoyable time, and I am looking forward to seeing your kids for the next group meeting.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
School Year Teens 09-10 - Session 9
Hi, Parents:
Tonight went smoothly, and your kids really seemed to enjoy themselves. We started off by talking a little bit about what the evening would entail, and several of them responded with areas and questions that they were interested in having me bring up during the parent meeting. We also talked in general about what was happening in group, and the tone, interestingly, was different than in the kid group, as might be expected. Very few of the teens were actually looking at magazines; they were joking with one another; they were conversing; it was a really nice introduction to the group tonight. One of the teens (EF) was unhappy that we were going to be doing any kind of technology project, but when we reviewed when we had last done one, she acknowledged that it had been a while. The technology project, which occurred when they transitioned into the larger room, consisted of having them talk about something really great that had happened to them during the past year. We did a few retakes to help them with this, and I really thought of this as a blend of an executive function and pragmatic communication type of exercise.
Your kids had no problem talking to the camera, but some of them had difficulty initiating; some had difficulty staying focused during the suggested fifteen minute timeline, and some of them had trouble concluding and ending. These are all worth working on, and I will be writing these down to try and make their representations look as natural and effective as possible.
Shortly after we transitioned to Gelson’s, where they chose different things they wanted to eat, and had the meal outside family style, the parent meeting started at 6:00. Congratulations to MS’s parent, who was the only one there waiting. However, by 6:20, we actually had a very good turnout. Parents then asked many useful questions, and we talked about some of the different kinds of behaviors involving compulsions, effective socializing, the effects of a positive school environment on their children’s behaviors, and simply how they stay connected to peers.
Parents watched the movie that the kids had produced earlier in the evening, and we talked about the significance of it.
The evening ended with a raffle for your kids, and all of them had an opportunity to win something. With very few exceptions, counselors reported that this went smoothly.
All in all, a good evening. We will be looking forward to the parent dinner the second week in April, followed by the parent meeting in two months, then another parent dinner in June. There also will be two more community outings: one will likely be an extended trip to the nearby park, and one will be at a location yet to be determined, but likely something bowling or miniature golf.
Thanks very much, and email me if you have any questions.
Tonight went smoothly, and your kids really seemed to enjoy themselves. We started off by talking a little bit about what the evening would entail, and several of them responded with areas and questions that they were interested in having me bring up during the parent meeting. We also talked in general about what was happening in group, and the tone, interestingly, was different than in the kid group, as might be expected. Very few of the teens were actually looking at magazines; they were joking with one another; they were conversing; it was a really nice introduction to the group tonight. One of the teens (EF) was unhappy that we were going to be doing any kind of technology project, but when we reviewed when we had last done one, she acknowledged that it had been a while. The technology project, which occurred when they transitioned into the larger room, consisted of having them talk about something really great that had happened to them during the past year. We did a few retakes to help them with this, and I really thought of this as a blend of an executive function and pragmatic communication type of exercise.
Your kids had no problem talking to the camera, but some of them had difficulty initiating; some had difficulty staying focused during the suggested fifteen minute timeline, and some of them had trouble concluding and ending. These are all worth working on, and I will be writing these down to try and make their representations look as natural and effective as possible.
Shortly after we transitioned to Gelson’s, where they chose different things they wanted to eat, and had the meal outside family style, the parent meeting started at 6:00. Congratulations to MS’s parent, who was the only one there waiting. However, by 6:20, we actually had a very good turnout. Parents then asked many useful questions, and we talked about some of the different kinds of behaviors involving compulsions, effective socializing, the effects of a positive school environment on their children’s behaviors, and simply how they stay connected to peers.
Parents watched the movie that the kids had produced earlier in the evening, and we talked about the significance of it.
The evening ended with a raffle for your kids, and all of them had an opportunity to win something. With very few exceptions, counselors reported that this went smoothly.
All in all, a good evening. We will be looking forward to the parent dinner the second week in April, followed by the parent meeting in two months, then another parent dinner in June. There also will be two more community outings: one will likely be an extended trip to the nearby park, and one will be at a location yet to be determined, but likely something bowling or miniature golf.
Thanks very much, and email me if you have any questions.
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