Hello Summer! Hello Fun In The Sun!

By June 15, 2022Uncategorized

Lynnette Aguilar, M.A., BCBA, LBA

As summer is ramping up it is time to bust out those sunglasses and sunscreen with your clinical team to plan ahead to get the most out of your summer sessions experience!

Family Essentials For Summer Services 

  1. Share your vacation schedule with your clinical team at least 2 weeks in advance.
    1. This gives plenty of time to get those make up hours in before your trip! 
    2. You are able to brainstorm and share what goals may be most helpful and meaningful to focus on to support summer vacation plans such as proactive strategies to support long car rides or safety skills while traveling on an airplane! 
    3. You can relieve stress by knowing your team will be ready and waiting to resume upon your return home. 
  2. Check in with your Clinician to learn about any summer vacation plans for your RBT.
    1. Your clinician will go over what options are available for your family so that you can have confidence in your summer session schedule. 
    2. Options may look like RBT temporary coverage, scheduling your time off at the same time to limit service disruptions, having a telehealth services plan in place for remote support, or even increasing parent consultation meetings during this time! 
    3. Lean on your clinical team to identify a solid summer plan! We are here for you.
  3. Schedule a Fun Outing or Two with your RBT!! 
    1. This is a wonderful way to support the generalization and maintenance of learned skills in a natural and fun way. 
    2. Get a list of learned skills that are ready for generalization across people, environments, and materials.
    3. Work with your team to put a plan in place to practice these skills in the community. 
    4. Summer offers a wonderful occasion to get information on how well skills are retained over time and increase independence.

Summer Fun Ideas!

Summer Fun Ideas in Nature

  1. Meet up with peers at your community park
  2. Practice conversational skills and enjoy the scenery while on a nature hike
  3. Building up positive coping strategies by starting a home garden

Summer Fun Ideas In The Community

  1. Ice Cream Social to practice social and daily living skills
  2. Visit your local zoo to generalize things such as labeling animals, echoing animal sounds, staying in close proximity to your caregivers, and recalling events about what you did that day!
  3. Practice many social skills by inviting friends to join you on a trip to your local ice cream parlor
  4. Check out if your local library has any activities over the summer such as arts and crafts to practice following instructions, fine motor skills, and completing a task.