Social Skills Playhouse Announces New Expanded Fall Schedule...

Due to popular demand, SSP has added two new classes taught by Lead Social Coach Ms Kelly at our CyFair location.  Robin Rettie of Lighthouse Learning and Resource has been kind enough to allow us expanded use of her facility so we are now able to offer this new 6 week class.

Classes begin on Wednesday, October 12th and run through Wednesday November 16th.

                       Wednesday 4:15-5:15 pm (Younger mixed group)
                       Wednesday 5:30-6:30 pm (Older boys group)


These classes are already filling up quickly, so please contact us at info@socialskillsplayhouse.com if you are interested in enrolling your child.

Cy Fair - Kelly Martinez, Lead Social Coach- Lighthouse Learning and Resource
10928 Grant Rd. Houston, TX 77070

Curriculum: Check out our new P.E.O.P.L.E. rubric created by SSP!

P.roblem solving, E.xecutive functioning, O.bservation skills

P.erspective taking, L.inguistic management, E.motion regulation

Tuition:

$350 6 week Fall 2011 Session

$210 for our 3 day December Holiday Camp

$500 for each 8 week Winter and Spring 2012 Semesters

Need based scholarships may be available

Week 3 Social Skills Playhouse; Accepting Responsibility

This week’s lesson focuses on accepting responsibility, conflict resolution and "I" statements.  We will be focusing on re framing, or reconstructing, statements so that they are no longer “blaming” statements.  A few examples of what we’ll be doing are:

Blaming statement: "Mom, he hit me!"

Re-constructed: I took his toy and then he got mad and hit me

Blaming statement: "She made me mad!"
Re-constructed: I was frustrated by her screaming and tattle telling

Blaming statement: You hate me!
Re-constructed: I feel sad when you tell me no/don't pay attention to me, etc.

Homework recommendations; try using your phone or a tape recorder to record a blaming statement and then play it back for your children to hear. Next tape a “taking responsibility” statement and play it back to them--hear the difference. For students who are more visual we recommend charting, writing with pictures and/or words the blaming statements and then re-constructing it into "I feel_______ when________ happens".

Week 2 Social Skills Playhouse; Emotion Regulation

This week we will be focusing on understanding our triggers and corresponding physiological responses by plotting them on our “Feel-o-meters” according to intensity.  We all naturally apply specific coping skills to regulate our responses and most of us only employ one or two.  In this week’s class, we will introduce and practice additional coping strategies. 

We often show low level cues that we are being triggered prior to a meltdown, our job as parents and professionals is to pick up on these cues and educate our children and ourselves as to how best deal with them.

We recommend students self advocate (with prompting at the beginning from an adult) to take safe breaks.  It is important that children are able to find a safe place in the home and the classroom for such breaks.  Interestingly, because it forces one to have controlled breathing, blowing bubbles (yes, the good old-fashioned soap bubbles) is an effective strategy for students young and old.  Other strategies which work are self massage and pressure points, stretching, guided short meditation, swinging, deep breathing and heavy lifting.

These techniques can be used in the traditional classroom as well.  You don’t need to have an IEP or a formal diagnosis for your child to incorporate some of these strategies into their school.  We have found that working with schools and giving ideas, thoughts and suggestions as to what will help fend off a major meltdown is often not only accepted, but embraced.

Social Skills Playhouse enjoys seeing Temple Grandin speak...

What a day!

Joe Whitehead, lead social coach at our Conroe location, and I spent the day at the Sheraton, North Houston listening to Temple Grandin, Ph.D. speak at the “A Journey Through the Autism Spectrum” conference hosted by Spectrum Training Systems Inc. It was an educational (and very entertaining) day, and we both came out of the three 90 minute lectures feeling both drained and energized.

Temple’s talks were broken into three major categories all focusing on different aspects of working with children on the Autism spectrum.  During the first session, both Joe and I were excited to hear Temple speak about so many of the tactics and strategies utilized in Social Skills Playhouse  like group play and working on eye contact as effective techniques to be used with these kids.

In addition to speaking about how Autism manifests itself in children, Temple also spent time focusing on the big picture, long term prognosis for men and women growing up with Autism (usually quite good), looking at how many successful and famous people either have been (or should have been!) diagnosed, and the role that both diet and meds play in both the treatment of Autism. 

Overall it was a fascinating day.  After the talk was over, I recalled that in introducing Temple the opening speaker said, “Grandin is listed in the 2010 Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world in the category “Heroes”.  I (like many of the 400 plus attendees I’m sure) gained a whole new respect for Dr. Grandin today, the humility with which she does, and the passion she brings to, her work; she truly is a hero.

 Bar Clarke

Social Skills Playhouse Parent Support and HOMEWORK!

New this semester, we are going to be posting parent homework along with other articles and pieces we feel would be helpful. You will also find the theme for the week and homework assignment written on the Social Skills Playhouse Calendar...

So, this weeks homework..

What are your or your child's obstacles in having and maintaining Exceptional Behavior?  What has worked for generalizing behavior at home, school and in your community?

Temple Grandin at A&M University 9/14-9/15

Temple Grandin to speak at two A&M events - Open to the General Public The well-respected lecturer Temple Grandin will share her experiences as a person with autism and her cattle expertise during two events at Texas A&M University.
Grandin will talk about her autism insights at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 at Rudder Auditorium. The Rosenthal Lecture Series and Texas A&M University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will host her presentation "Different Kinds of Minds Need to Work Together."

Grandin also will speak at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at Texas A&M on the topic "Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach."

Grandin, a professor at Colorado State University, was diagnosed with autism in 1950. She became an internationally acclaimed expert on humane livestock handling facilities and a leader in the animal welfare movement. In North America, almost half of all cattle processing facilities include a center track restrainer system that she designed for meat plants.

Her story has been reported widely, including most recently in Time magazine's 2010 "The 100 Most Influential People in the World." Grandin is also the subject of the 2010 Emmy Award-winning HBO film "Temple Grandin," which was a
semi-biographical account of her life as a highly-functioning person with autism.

Both events are free, but tickets are needed for the Sept. 14 presentation. They can be obtained by contacting the Texas A&M University Box Office at 979-845-1234. The Sept. 15 event is open to the public without tickets.