Blog

Many of the kids we work with struggle with regulating their emotions. Inadequate emotion regulation can look different depending on the child and the situation. Often, we see kids get frustrated with a situation or peer. Sometimes kids may act out, throwing a tantrum, calling names or crying. Other times, we see them internalize their emotions by shutting down. Or even

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Now that school is out, it’s time to think about getting your kids involved in summer programs. With options like sports camps, tutoring sessions and wilderness clubs (not to mention good old fashioned unstructured boredom) it can be hard to decide which camp might be best for your child. Maybe you want your child to try something new, but aren’t

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Boredom can be a good thing, and summer is a great time for it. This may seem counter-intuitive advice coming from a social skills coach for a program with a thriving (and awesome) summer camp program, but your kids need some boredom and unstructured time. Structured activities are beneficial, especially if you have concerns about your kids spending too much

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New location on Bainbridge Island at Strawberry Hill Park! In our traditional camps we offer exciting activity choices from Legos to art to nature hikes. With these incredible enrichment activities as a foundation, our master’s level counselors help campers build confidence and connect to new friends. Social Growth Topics We work with parents and campers to formulate individualized social learning goals such as: Conversation initiation, flexibility, leadership, sharing ideas, sustaining conversations,

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With a lot of the teenage guys with whom I work, dating is a serious goal and a serious headache. Most of them have a lot of misperceptions about what it takes to—in their words–“get a girlfriend.” There are many misperceptions about this process—and it is a process…an ongoing one. My hope is that teenagers (and parents) walk away with

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Understanding autism throughout the country  It’s no secret that autism spectrum disorder is increasing in prevalence, especially in the United States. There is no race, region, or social class exempt from the impacts of autism. This is clearly demonstrated in the 2013 documentary The United States of Autism, whose host and director, Richard Everts, travels across the country and interviews

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A psychologist at my first internship rotation hammered into all the students who would cross her path the concepts of developmental age and chronological age. She emphasized how important they would be in all of our future careers—she was right. But how are they important to parents? Chronological age is pretty straightforward: it is simply how physically old your child

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Social networking has become a big part of how we keep in contact with family and friends. It allows us to share ideas and connect with people. Given that the cyber world can also be daunting, parents tend to breathe a sigh of relief when their teen has little interest in creating a Facebook account. My brother, who will be

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A talk with Dr. Gary Stobbe As individuals with autism age into adulthood, many new barriers emerge than interfere with success, happiness, and accessing the community as an adult. To better understand these barriers and to better identify opportunities to promote successful transition to adulthood, Dr. Stobbe will review what is currently known about the autism trajectory, co-occuring medical and

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What is Dungeons & Dragons? Why does Aspiring Youth use it in one of our social skills groups? And why is it one of our most popular groups? While some of our students’ parents have played it themselves, many don’t really know what it’s all about. Read on if you’re either unfamiliar with the game or how we use it.

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