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Description
As the number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) grows, there is an increasing need for opportunities for individuals with ASD within the community. A common setting where children spend their time is daytime summer camps. The benefits for children with ASD in these settings include social interactions, friendship development, participation in age-appropriate activities, and gains in academic, social, and language skills (McCurdy & Cole, 2014; Finke, McNaughton, & Drager, 2009). Yet, previous research has found that simply allowing children with ASD to be present in inclusive settings is not enough. Furthermore, educators are often not equipped to support children with ASD. The Pieces Project aimed to fill this gap and provided a training program for summer camp educators on strategies and techniques to support inclusion and engagement of children with ASD in the full camp experience. Twenty-seven individuals from twelve different cultural museums/institutions attended the training program. The program began with a brief overview of what ASD is, current barriers to inclusion, and the benefits of inclusion. A key theme was open communication across all individuals involved—starting with how to facilitate conversations with parents around inclusion. The proactive evidenced-based practices discussed were the use of visual supports, prompting, modeling, and strategies to support sensory challenges. Activities to support these strategies included small and large group discussion, worksheets, videos, and role playing. Supplementary handouts were also given with each evidence-based practice that was covered. To provide continued support, a mid-summer check-in was offered in which participants shared successes and discussed challenges. A final survey was completed by ten participants from seven different museums/institutions. Each participant used at least one evidence-based practice with the most common strategy used being visual schedules. Results also showed that educators have the desire to be inclusive but lack the training and support to accommodate children with ASD. Through this training program, educators learned more about ASD and gained a network of colleagues to support any future challenges. Most importantly, they now feel better equipped and open to provide meaningful and supportive experiences for children with ASD and their families.
