THAMES VALLEY CHILDREN’S CENTRE PILOTS SOCIAL SKILLS PROGRAM AT LONDON SUMMER CAMP

Members of the Autism Program at Thames Valley Children’s Centre launch a pilot program to teach social skills to camp counsellors and campers.

London, ON – This summer, the Autism Program at Thames Valley Children’s Centre piloted a new training program for camp counsellors at the City of London Day Camp –Kinsmen Location. The pilot project is part of an initiative by the Autism Program to train camp counsellors to use a peer-mediated approach when interacting with campers with disabilities and their peers. The program aims to increase awareness of different strengths and challenges of campers with disabilities and is designed to promote the inclusion of these campers with their same-age peers who may or may not have a disability.

The pilot project at this particular Day Camp builds on the PEER Pals Program – also developed by the Autism Program at Thames Valley Children’s Centre. PEER Pals is a peer-mediated social skills program that teaches social communication skills in the classroom, provides students with strategies on how to interact with their peers with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and provides games at recess for all students to participate in. Catch Phrase is the newest DVD from the Autism Program and is currently being used to complement the PEER Pals Program. Part 1 of the DVD is an instructional video that explains the reason behind using a peer-mediated approach to teach social skills, the downfall of using an adult approach and step-by-step instructions on using a peer-mediated approach. Part 2 of the DVD is designed for students and provides entertaining and motivating social skills lessons using a sitcom-based approach.

The new Day Camp training program is delivered in two parts: first to camp staff and then to the campers themselves. Camp counsellors at the City of London Day Camp attended a training day in May called the “All Kids in Camp Inclusion Conference” where Thames Valley Children’s Centre employees trained counsellors in the peer-mediated strategy. Part 1 of Catch Phrase was also shown at this training session. Next, campers participated in an “Awareness Kit” with TRACKS training which teaches peers how to interact and include campers with disabilities. Camp counsellors fade their presence and reinforce peers for helping out and including their fellow campers, thus increasing friendships and quality of life for individuals with disabilities

So far, the training program has received excellent feedback. “The peer-mediated approach has benefited not only the TVCC client I was working with at the camp, but all of the campers and counsellors,” says Natasha Roberts, an Instructor Therapist at TVCC. “Four days after the program was introduced at the camp I saw an increase in the interactions between our client and his peers, and a decrease in the interactions with him and the adult support. The program has allowed our client more independence and inclusion, and that’s what summer camp is all about!”

The next phase for the Autism Program is a broader distribution of the PEER Pals Program and Catch Phrase. So far, the Autism Program has received requests from other school boards and provincial autism programs. “We are planning to continue implementing it in schools,” says Carmen Hall, an ASD Consultant with the Autism Program at Thames Valley Children’s Centre. “And we are hoping to adapt a version for daycares. We have completed a version for families and we will be piloting that project this year as well.”

For more information about Thames Valley Children’s Centre and the Autism Program, please visit our website at http://www.tvcc.on.ca/

For more information contact:

Carmen Hall      
Autism Spectrum Disorder Consultant   
Phone: (519) 685-8700   ext 53756   
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