Paradigm Development Center: July 2020

Camp Paradigm Moms & Grandmoms

Due to the Coronavirus, Camp Paradigm 2020 - Week One was facilitated online. I wanted to take some time to recognize the amazing character and qualities of the women that helped facilitate this all-girls camp crew in the challenging online format.

Accessibility

So, if you didn't know already, there are a super-duper amount of challenges that arise when asking a camper with learning disabilities to engage in a series of online tasks throughout a day with presence, enthusiasm, and sustained concentration. Facilitating online learning and activities can be very difficult for most special education camp instructors and parents. This is because there are inherent issues with the online learning format such as technological problems. Some examples of this are internet connection & bandwidth gaps, camera & voice issues, comfortability with laptops & applications for the parents. All of these technological components supply the supports for camp activities.

Parents are required to become familiar with these components in order to assist their campers in accessing online camp settings. This is without mentioning the actual disabilities that are inherent within a camper’s level of autism and the individualized challenges that each camper's diagnosis brings to the table. With that being said, Camp Paradigm Week One - Online was no small task to pull off especially for campers that had not already established the trusting and enthusiastic relationship that we like to cultivate in the face-to-face environment at Paradigm Development Center (PDC).

Supports

During Camp Paradigm Week One - Online, the moms and grandmothers of the all-female campers were so impressive. Their level of patience, presence, and interaction with their campers enabled them to take part in each and every activity and to enjoy the overall amount of fun that was designed for them. These moms had to coordinate with Camp Paradigm staff on materials, expectations for each activity, facilitating with the controls of logging in & changing from one virtual room to another virtual room (breakout rooms), repeating directions and questions, and prompting their campers appropriately to gain depth of thought and responses. These women organized their “at-home” environments in such a way that their campers had the ability to do yoga. This requires space for stretching and these women prompted their campers to participate and to put forth effort into each of the moves and stretches. These women made sure that the campers were back from breaks on time after ensuring their campers had an appropriate amount of relaxation during the breaks. This allowed campers to maintain their peak concentration during the camp activities and interactions according to the daily camp schedule.

Enthusiasm

One of the greatest things that we noticed about the Camp Paradigm Super Moms and Grandmas was the level of enthusiasm, willingness, and openness to each online camp activity. This really drove the interaction to a level of engagement that is not accomplishable without the strength & patience of the women present. This is especially impressive knowing the amount of stress, concern, lack of understanding of where an activity might take us, and what it might look like and its finality. Oh, these women showed out with their extraordinary amount of relationship skills and leadership skills.

Patience

So, let’s discuss patience real quick. We all know the huge challenges that can arise from technological failures, connection issues, the lack of good video quality, and/or problems with audible communication. During Camp Paradigm Week ONE online, there were times when some or all of these tech failures disrupted camp sessions. All of these tech failures seemed to naturally take place at times when communication was at its greatest need and these moms and grandmas made do. They stayed in the moment, stayed present and patient, and saw through each one of these particular challenges to a point of the successful conclusion of all activities.

Relationship

As I pointed out at the beginning of this blog post, TEAM Paradigm staff prefers to cultivate trusting personal relationships in a face-to-face setting. Why? Because we have learned that many autistic folks rely on the background standing of trust in the people that they're interacting with. In this case, that wasn't completely possible as some campers were new to the Paradigm Development Center programs. The moms and grandmothers of our campers were crucial in bridging the gaps in pre-existing relationships while at the same time actively building new relationships between their camper and other campers. This was completed through all of the explicit interactions that were designed into the Camp Paradigm daily schedule. I witnessed these women going above and beyond what most people feel they’re able to accomplish.

I am so proud to have been a part of what occurred during Camp Paradigm Week ONE online. I am so proud to know these families and to see the extent of love and support they have expressed for their kids and grandkids at every level. We love our Camp Paradigm families!

- Loren Marvin, Lead Teacher at Paradigm Development Center