Take 2: Teaching Children w/ Autism Washington, DC

It’s a bittersweet time for me. Bitter, because I’m always a bit sad and lonely when camp is over for another summer; and sweet because I can take a moment to savor how Take 2, now in its sixth year, has enjoyed so many wonderful successes.

As always, the most important successes are evident in very ordinary-seeming moments. On the last day of camp, for example, staff watched proudly as campers signed each other’s yearbooks, happily exchanging phone numbers, coordinating schedules and greeting their parents at pick up with news of future play-dates. One child had even arranged a pool party for everyone in August. "It will make going back to school easier if I see my Take 2 friends," he announced. Another camper, with characteristic precision, offered reassurance to his counselor as he said goodbye: "Don't worry, I'll be back--it's only 330 days until next July!"

For children with social learning disabilities, this is what we’re aiming for: a community within which they feel comfortable and appreciated; a group they want to be and can be a part of. Although camp is only a month long, Take 2 campers will carry with them the knowledge that they can have friends and feel acceptance as they face the enormous challenges of the typical school year.

I’d like to fill you in on just a few of this summer’s milestones at Take 2: • Two of our junior staff members (high school seniors) were siblings of former campers. These two big sisters brought with them the wisdom and experience they have developed at home, and learned new concepts and strategies that will serve them and their families as their brothers grow up. Most importantly they were great counselors! • We served 17 children this summer, four of whom were returning for a third year. As a result we developed a "spiraling curriculum" that allows returning campers to expand their skills while reinforcing previous summer teachings. • In the fall we will launch two bi-monthly social skills groups for nine Take2 campers. Students will participate in a curriculum (developed by our close cousin, the Model Asperger Program at Ivymount School and colleagues at the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Children’s National Medical Center) designed to promote flexibility and problem solving skills. • We continued our collaborative study with CNMC (above), and now have enough data to assess the impact Take 2 is having on our campers. We look forward to submitting the findings to a peer reviewed journal specializing in autism. • Take 2 was the subject of a very thoughtful article in our community newspaper, the Northwest Current. The article is posted on the Global Giving site, and you can read it below.

I hope everyone is enjoying August. Thank you again for your support of Take 2.

• NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ABOUT TAKE 2 (PDF)
  

What a huge success! Thanks to your generous contributions, Take 2 exceeded its goal by a huge margin, earning a permanent spot with Global Giving. With your help, Take 2 has raised over $15,000 in less than a month! And, equally exciting, those donations came from over 200 individuals, most of them (most of you) first-time contributors. This is enormously significant for Take 2's future, and we are so very grateful for your support. Thank you a thousand times. Take 2 will soon receive a complete list of donors from Global Giving, and we look forward to thanking each of you individually. In the meantime, please accept this enormous Group Thank You, to all 200 plus of you.

The funds you provided are especially important right now because Take 2 has expanded this year. We're serving 17 families this summer, many of whom are attending thanks to the financial aid made possible by your contributions. And Take 2 is also now expanding beyond summer and into the school year: beginning in September, Take 2 will provide campers with a school year extension program.

Today, Monday, July 6, marked the first day of camp. "This is the best camp ever!" exclaimed one new camper at the end of the day. His endorsement thrilled the staff, since this child had begun the morning feeling particularly anxious and had experienced a couple of truly difficult moments. By the end of the day, though, he was happy and comfortable, pleased with his achievements, and excited about the new friends he was making. (He also really liked the Lego toys.) This is only the beginning.

Success – real success based on specific and meaningful accomplishments -- is the rule at Take 2, and today things got off to a great start. This is possible thanks to our wonderful staff, who spent the last two weeks training and preparing intently for the children's arrival; thanks to the very hard work of the children themselves, whose willingness to work on things that are so very challenging for them inspires us every day; and thanks to you, Take 2's supporters, who provide the means for this very special program to exist.

At the end of the week we'll send more news and post some photographs. We thank you again for the incredible outpouring of support. We know you'll be excited to see how things develop. It's going to be a great summer!

Please feel free to contact me at LGreenman@starpower.net about anything at all.

P.S. Take 2 came in Fourth in overall funds raised in the American Open Challenge, and third in total number of donors. The organizations that ranked higher were far bigger than Take 2. While it would have been nice to win, we're absolutely thrilled with how we did. It truly marks the beginning of a new era for Take 2.