For her Summer program, Christy joins forces with two other experienced clinicians, Carrie Heller and Annemarie Messerschmidt, to provide a group experience that offers your child the opportunity to put into action the principals of
sensory processing, “How Does Your Engine Run?” and social
skills. A small group of eight children (with breakout groups of four)
will come together under to learn how to appropriately and effectively
express their feelings in an active playgroup setting.
Children’s reactions to various sensory stimuli will be used to
help them understand what helps them to feel comfortable and
successful and what makes them feel irritated or overwhelmed.
Behavioral responses (both favorable and unfavorable) will
be pointed out to them “in the moment” so that they can better
understand their own feelings and behavior as well as those of
others. This “in the moment” support is intended to give them
the information and tools they need to better choose effective
and appropriate “Engine Helpers” which in turn will increase
successful social interaction and boost their feeling of
self-worth.
At the end of each session, the parents will be asked to
participate in a brief group review to discuss what activities the
children participated in and how they responded and
suggest activities that can be done at home to support
this learning process. General “homework assignments” will also
be given to the parents to help reinforce what is being taught
in the group setting.
Children appropriate for this summer group program may have a
diagnosis of a Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), or may be
described as clumsy or slow to learn physical skills, bossy
during interactive games, very messy or extremely clean, poor
listeners, very disorganized or as having poor peer relationship
skills. These children, nevertheless, often have average or
above average intelligence. All children will need to have
enough receptive and expressive language skills to participate
in short group discussions. Children may vary in their need to
work on motor skill development versus meeting physical
intensity needs.
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Gross Motor Activities, both indoor and outdoor,
are designed for children who may have difficulty with
balance, large motor coordination, core strength, problem
solving, or body-in-space issues. The gross motor portion
will also be helpful for those children with good
coordination and balance in that it will offer physical
intensity beneficial for organization and toning. The use of
swings, obstacle courses, a climbing wall, zip line, crash
cushions, trampoline, and resistance swimming pool will be
incorporated into this summer experience.
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Fine Motor and Perceptual Motor Activities will
focus on foundational skills necessary for fine motor
development such as using the appropriate amount of force,
in-hand coordination and strength, hand dominance, touch
discrimination, being tolerant of "messy" or light touch,
sequencing steps, and using two hands together.
- Oral Motor and Respiratory Activities will focus
on refining coordination involving the mouth, lips and
tongue, quality breath control and tolerance of tastes and
textures. The oral and respiratory activities will be
incorporated throughout the session and especially during
snack.
- The “Engine Program” for learning self-regulation will be introduced and practiced throughout the sessions,
enabling children to learn about what helps them feel more
in control of their feelings, behaviors and successes.
Learning about themselves as well as others will be tied
in with learning how to cope as a member of a group.
- Social/Emotional Development will be addressed
during all activities and additionally emphasized in a
breakout group of four children using reciprocal, interactive
play. Children will be tackling problems head on that may be
difficult for them, such as sharing, listening to other
points of view, clingy or demanding behavior, wanting one's own way all the time, and/or feeling anxious about
interacting with others or trying new things. Parents
will be provided feedback and problem solving strategies to
assist in creating similar controlled situations at
home in order to practice the skills needing development.
There will be a focus on rehearsing and practicing newly
developed skills.
Information about your child’s sensory processing and
developmental concerns will be taken over the phone prior to the
first day to aid in individualizing the sessions. We will be
happy to read any report that you may have or to talk with any
therapist you feel would be helpful. Participating children may already be receiving therapy services or may simply be struggling at school. The group to which your child is
assigned will be determined by age and similarities to other
children within the group. Unfortunately, we are unable to
provide a formal evaluation or give a written report at the end of
this summer program.
To maximize the
benefits of this program, parents will need to know how to
recognize and support their child’s attempt to practice what
they have learned. To this end, parents are asked to attend three
consecutive lectures that cover: Understanding Sensory
Integration, Creating a Sensory Diet, and “How Does Your Engine
Run?”. Having this background prior to the start of this program
will also serve to help parents participate more fully when
discussing, understanding and addressing their child’s needs. Please see the Overview Schedule
for upcoming dates. These three overview lectures are each 1½ hours
long and will be offered at a reduced rate to Summer Group
participants for a total of $165.00 per family.
There are two different groups, each limited to eight
children. The younger group is made up of children ages four to six, while the older group is children seven to nine years of age.
Carrie Heller, a Clinical Social Worker with over twenty years
of experience, served as Director of Clinical Services at The Bridge Runaway Shelter in Atlanta before going into private practice and founding Circus Camp in 1993. Her background includes extensive experience in movement, which she incorporates into the therapy experience. Carrie’s approach comes from years of working with both typical and special needs children, both inside and outside of the therapy room.
Annemarie Messerschmidt, a Clinical Social Worker, has over sixteen years of experience and has worked extensively with children who have anxiety disorders such as Social Anxiety, Depression, ADHD/ADD, Oppositional Defiant behaviors, developmental delays and Conduct Disorders. Using a developmentally based play therapy approach, she has lead group therapy sessions and facilitated peer play. Her own child’s challenges with developmental delays have provided her with a special understanding of the emotional effects on families.
In addition to Christy, Carrie and Annemarie, the program is further augmented by two adult volunteers, trained in Christy's methods, to provide a supervisory ratio of better than one adult for every two children.
"Christy taught me to "walk beside" my child and be their life coach. " Wendy M., son, age 5, Norcross, read Summer Program Testimonials here
