CDM Family Series Presents:

A Guide to Your Child's Social Cognitive Development

• Understanding how your child is interpreting, experiencing and functioning in their social world.
• Emotional regulation: what is it, why is it important, and what can you do to support your child's regulation?
• Tools and behavior plans to help organize and motivate children with social cognitive challenges.
• Understanding and working with community resources -- building a strong team.

Open to parents or caregivers. Classes will be held on Wednesday evenings, 6:00-7:30pm, on November 5, 12, 19, December 3, 10, 17, 2014.

Social Climbers Junior:

Open Enrollment Begins October 20

Social Climbers Junior is a developmentally appropriate, play-based group that allows children to practice skills such as initiating and maintaining social interactions, staying engaged in small group activities, emotional regulation, and self-monitoring. The playgroups incorporate developmentally appropriate songs, books and toys to teach, practice, and generalize foundational social thinking skills, including joint attention, perspective taking, and social communication. Class sessions include circle-time (with choice-making and sharing), direct teaching and practice of social cognitive skills, expansion and modeling of social language, and facilitated cooperative play activities. 

The class utilizes concepts from Michelle Garcia Winner's "I LAUGH Curriculum" and the new "Incredible Flexible You Curriculum," as well as efficacy-based strategies such as visual schedules, emotional regulation tools, and Whole Body Listening. 
 

If you are interested in enrolling, please contact the Center for Developing Minds and an instructor will contact you to determine the appropriate class for your child. The age range for participants is generally three years-old to third-grade students. In order to design balanced groups, each child is individually screened and placed into a group with a maximum of six children. 

Classes are held Tuesdays or Wednesdays from 1:00-2:30 pm or 3:00-4:30 pm, and Thursdays from 3:00-4:30 pm. The next session begins November 4.

Setting the Stage for Social Success

Does your child struggle with understanding the non-verbal aspects of communication? Do they have difficulty understanding the perspective of others? Do they struggle having back-and-forth conversations with their peers? This new course will explore the use of drama and theatrical games to help children develop these types of communication and social skills. Additionally, this group will help children improve their ability to understand other perspectives, while working in a group setting. Each week, participants will enjoy a variety of dramatic activities and skits, designed build their social-skill set.

The instructor, Nicole Kristal, has many years of experience working with children with social-cognitive challenges and has facilitated the drama and theater activities at Camp Altitude since 2010. In addition, she has performed in an improvisational comedy troop for the past several years. She is a quick-witted teacher that will engage and entertain your child, while helping them discover the many hidden rules of social cues and communication skills.

Open to children, age 9-12 years old. Classes will be held on Mondays and Fridays, beginning the week of November 17.

Organized Bodies, Organized Minds

Does your child struggle to do school work in a timely manner and then forget to turn it in? Is it impossible for them to keep their room clean? Students who struggle with their executive functions have challenges with planning, working memory, attention, problem solving, verbal reasoning, and a variety of other issues. 

This group will teach children and teens about how to be in control of their bodies and minds by helping them to be organized - internally and externally. A variety of techniques will be practiced to enable them to be more self-aware and to better self-regulate their sensory systems, so they can stay on track when they are studying, doing chores or playing with friends. The class will draw from the "Zones of Regulation" curriculum and will educate the students about how to control their response to unexpected circumstances. In addition, each class the students will participate in a group task which will focus on specific executive functioning skills. 
 

Open to children, age 9-12 years old. Classes will be held on Tuesdays  and Thursdays, beginning the week of November 18.