Nurturing the Team’s Motivation »
Resources I created to help our volunteers magnify their motivation and impact before each play session, and assess their facilitation skills within our program's curriculum.
team training
Our autism therapy program attracted 11 volunteers who graced us with their dedication to learn and help our son grow. I embraced my role as their teacher, and nurtured their ability to connect with our child, and inspire his social development through their relationship and purposeful play. Some of these articles I wrote directly for them in our Team blog.
Inspiring Deeper Interaction »
Interactive loop games are perfect to pursue subtle related variation. Here I offer several ideas around a turn-taking game for my team of Son-Rise volunteers.
Inspiring Social Referencing: Following Eyes »
This video shows Aaron motivating Kiki to perceive and practice following somebody else’s eyes. He is playful and consistent and Kiki quickly starts to get it.
Easing Into My Resistance »
Choosing love and ease in order to connect with Kiki while joining him in one of his repetitive activities.
Practicing Movement with Attention »
Life examples of how ABM's 1st essential propelled us with sustained eye contact, verbal context in communication breakdowns, and understanding of emotions.
Inspiring Growth Without Requests »
A tweak to our Son-Rise program replacing requests by opportunities for spontaneous action. In these videos, Aaron’s playfulness alone motivates Kiki to imitate him.
Suspending My Resistance »
Becoming aware and reversing the "mental no" and minimal response I give to Kiki's crazy and repetitive comments to give joy a chance and connect deeply with him.
Madame Bovary’s Shop »
A fun game designed around Joaquin’s interest for shopping that motivated him to practice non-verbal communication.
The Purpose of Zoning Out »
Disconnecting is not of lesser value than being interactive; just one more way of being in the moment, and it has a purpose for autistic individuals and everybody else.
Hombre Araña »
A playroom game that motivated Kiki to stretch his attention span, body coordination, and physical interaction.
Building With Daring Actions »
Playing with Kiki while holding the intention to use daring actions to build motivation for myself or for variations around repetitive activities or conversations.