Selective Mutism: Adventure Camp II

Adventure Camp (August 1st-5th): Monday: Field Trip to Dairy Queen. Key Point: Kiddo was amazing vocally and even made a best friend in a peer and was spontaneously talking to the peer without the need of prompts from the counselor. Today my little girl asked one of her peers: “Is that Tinkerbell…or not?” Which is one of the question formats we use with the children and it was so neat to see my child use the same type of questions. Tuesday: Field Trip to Home Depot: Today my kiddo asked a peer a cute question that was shaped the same way I ask her questions. Hey (second child’s name) do you think this is sunscreen or…a water bottle? And the second child responded with sunscreen. It was so cute to see them using the same formatting we do as counselors and literally see the impact we are having on them. Wednesday: Today was the first day that we switched kiddos. I actually was paired with the child that was close friends with my first child. I had a great experience working with her. Although I have to be honest I experienced some guilt when I switched to my second child and the first was constantly looking at me trying to figure out why I wasn’t with her instead. She even asked me to do her sticker sheet, get her water, etc. This was a hard transition for me because I had to help by saying oh thank you for asking me and trying to have her ask her new counselor instead. In the end she did a great job and my new child also had a great time while we worked today. Today was a day of surprises. This was to help the children be comfortable with random things to happen and change. For example, our schedule was wrong on our board in the classroom and so we had to help our children be comfortable with not knowing what was coming next. There were also good surprises where we had a guest visitor (local librarian) and when we went to the park and an ice-cream truck arrived and everyone was able to order their own ice-cream. Other than my allergies acting up at the park I had so much fun working with the two campers and seeing them talk to each other, asking each other questions, and making decisions for what they wanted to do all on their own. Once they made the decision they would then proceed to ask me if they could do it without any prompts. Watching the growth of all of these children just since Monday has been so amazing to see and truly reinforces the work that we as therapists do. Thursday: Last night I found out that I was going to be partnered with my third camper but I actually hadn’t spoken to him at all. I was really anxious about working with this camper as I didn’t want to set him back when I hadn’t worked with him at all. I even sent an email of concern to my facilitator. When I first arrived today I was hopeful that my email conveyed my concern and I would be switched to a different child. However, I was not switched but was talked to about what he needed and that they felt I would do great with him.

In the end everything went really well with him. It was a much more difficult day because this kiddo didn’t have just selective mutism as my previous children but he also had autism and a phobia of loud noises (automatic toilets, sinks, and dryers especially). However, by the end of the day the exposures conducted in the bathroom progressed and his speech was very interactive with me, peers, and even the police officers when we went to the police station for our community exposure. I came to find that my anxiety wasn’t fully necessary that I experienced before. I will say that this was the busiest day I have had so far with advanced therapeutic solutions (ATS) at not only camp but also the training and lead-in week. I had to make sure that I participated in all the activities that were required with my kiddo but I also had to make sure that he did his personal exposure goals regarding bathroom tolerance and social interactions. It was still a very rewarding day and I am grateful for this experience. Tomorrow is my last day and it will be so bittersweet. We are going to go on a field trip to Pirate’s Cove which is a theme park for younger children and adolescents. We will be going from a 1:1 counselor and camper ratio to either a 2:3 or 2:4 ratio. I am really excited for the field trip and the last day but I am a little sad about the experience almost being over. More tomorrow…

Friday: As noted previously, today we went to Pirate’s Cove. I was partnered with one other counselor and then the 2nd kiddo I worked with in the week and 2 other little girls that I hadn’t worked with previously 1:1 but I communicated with in the classroom. They were all in the youngest classroom group. The three girls did a great job working together to decide what to do while they were there and then communicating to me what their choice was. All three girls went from barely communicating to their primary therapist during lead-in sessions and not communicating with peers or the alternate counselors to concluding the camp having fun giggling and talking with each other, wanting pictures together, and playing together. At our final counselor wrap up meeting we each said something about our thoughts in regards to the past weeks experiences we have had with the students. I discussed the fact that this experience was my first formal counseling experience with any population and the experience has only caused me to further my devotion to learning to work with children and adolescents and to one day provide counseling services on my own. Overall, these experiences I had with Advanced Therapeutic Solutions and their Adventure Camp will always be an important cornerstone in my development as a mental health counselor and potentially a psychologist one day. I have found a connection with PCIT (Parent Child Interactive Therapy) as well as working with a younger population. It was a wonderful experience that I am greatly considering participating in again in the future if/when possible. Also I apologize that it took me so long to post this article update...Although it is perfect time considering October is Selective Mutism awareness month... All I can say is graduate school life can be hectic at times.