This week, we speak with Executive Director of Spectrum Sailing, Scott Herman. Scott is a lifelong sailor who wanted to sign his neurodivergent son, Daniel, up for sailing camp. None of the camps in his area would take Daniel, so Scott created his own program. Now, Spectrum Sailing travels the country to provide a weekend camp for children who otherwise would not have the ability to learn to sail. In the camp, students do more than just learn to sail, they learn teamwork and social skills as they work together as a team to sail their boats.

Scott shares his favorite success stories, how he has taken his parenting experience and applied it to Spectrum Sailing, and advice for parents.

spectrumsailing.org

Timestamps:

00:00 Announcements! School is back, H.I.V.E is a CDC+ vendor, and a $300k grant from Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation!

02:20 Introducing Scott Herman and Spectrum Sailing

06:10 What does a day in the camp look like?

09:10 How does the location change the programming?

11:20 Scott’s parenthood journey and applying his experience to Spectrum Sailing

16:50 Scott’s favorite success stories?

22:10 Future plans for Spectrum Sailing

26:45 How can people register or volunteer?

28:15 Advice for families on their Autism journey

Join us every month for a new episode of Helping Families Go Beyond. Visit beyondthespectrum.org for more information.

In this episode, we talk with Sarah Bass, Beyond the Spectrum’s Advanced Learning Center Program Director, about what families can do to prepare their children for the new school.

These include strategies for warming your student up for school and preparing them for all the new inputs they will be experiencing. Sarah also provides examples of sensory items students can bring to help their first week anxiety. Sarah also provides advice for teachers, experienced and inexperienced.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introducing Sarah Bass and announcements

(01:50) What should families be thinking about before starting a new school year?

(03:50) How can families prepare for new sensory inputs?

(05:30) What can families do schedule-wise to prepare their students?

(06:30) Preparing your students for social interactions

(07:25) How can parents prepare their students for a new school?

(08:55) What should teachers know?

(10:05) What is pairing?

(11:10) What can make a lesson plan meaningful?

(12:45) Advice for brand new teachers

(14:30) How can parents and teachers work together to help a child reach their goals?

(17:00) Teaching success stories

(19:40) Upcoming for new school year

Join us every month for a new episode of Helping Families Go Beyond. Visit beyondthespectrum.org for more information.

This week, we speak with Beyond the Spectrum’s Program Director, Laura Ryan-Leverett. Laura walks us through how she creates summer activities for students, variables to consider when planning an activity, and ideas for engaging and educational activities.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Summer Updates

(01:00) Introducing Laura Ryan-Leverett

(03:45) Creating meaningful summer activities

(06:25) Summer activity ideas for children on the spectrum

(12:00) Non-arts and crafts activities

(13:20) Sensory activities

(14:25) Helping with sensory challenges

(16:00) Outdoor activities and structure

(19:00) Interoception considerations

(20:30) Social activities and benefits

(22:40) Common challenges during summer

(24:50) Tips for returning to school

(26:00) Skills to develop over the summer

Join us every month for a new episode of Helping Families Go Beyond. Visit beyondthespectrum.org for more information.