Take 2: Teaching Children w/ Autism Washington, DC

Dear Take 2 Supporter,

Each year, Take 2 serves children whose social challenges prevent them from participating in virtually any other camp.  The program offers the fun every child looks for in a summer experience, and also something more: a rigorous, carefully structured curriculum that teaches social skills, self-regulation, executive function and self-advocacy to children with autism spectrum disorders and strong verbal skills.  Those are big concepts for children who are just 8, 9 and 10 years old but, as their parents can tell you, they represent the keys to the social kingdom.  For Take 2 campers, it is this set of issues more than any other that will determine their futures.  They have wonderful talents and abilities, great stores of knowledge and terrific senses of humor, but in order to share these gifts with the rest of the world, they need very intensive instruction and support. 

Thank you for your help in bringing the resources of Take 2 to families who would not otherwise be able to afford them.   We’re so grateful for your support.  We know that many of you have given recently and generously.   Thank you!  We love how Global Giving allows us to stay in touch with donors and provides access to so many smaller ($10, $25, $50) contributions that, when added together, keep us financially healthy.  If you haven’t yet made an end of year gift to Take 2, we hope you’ll consider one now.  You can use this Global Giving link: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/teaching-children-with-autism/ 

From all of us to all of you:  warm wishes for a happy and health 2011.  Enjoy your holidays!

Gratefully,

Lisa Greenman & Monica Adler Werner

P.S.  If you're new to Take 2, you may be curious about the Pink Panther logo above.  The Pink Panther has been a Take 2 mascot each year, and the design above was this summer's T-shirt. We love the Pink Panther for many reasons, including the fact that he’s silent.  During camp, we watch clips from the Pink Panther cartoons (not the Peter Sellers movies, which feature real actors) and talk about how amazing it is that you can tell what people are thinking if you carefully observe their expressions and their body language, even if they say no words at all.  The exaggeration and humor of the Pink Panther make this work memorable and fun. 

Throughout the summer, the Pink Panther helps campers become “Friendship Detectives,” solving the mystery of friendship.  For children with autism spectrum disorders, social interaction is mysterious and confusing.  Often it is also frustrating or even frightening.  After repeated experiences of failure, many children stop trying, and isolate themselves in order to feel safe and less uncomfortable.  Take 2 is a refuge for these kids, but it provides so much more than respite.  Thank you again for your support!