Day Eleven – In the blink of an eye this course is coming to a close. The day started with adult daily living: small talk, in which we talked about what are appropriate conversations at the table (social faking). The class was transforming, the conversation was natural and the interest was genuine. Eye contact was right on, and that was when the pupils became the teacher. The teachers now knew that the campers are on their way to transforming into independent young adults; that’s when I especially knew my job was almost done here.

For the first exercise of the day we did yoga in the pavilion. When the campers did mindfulness and yoga everyone was uncomfortable at first, including Veronica, the Yoga Instructor, who was amazing. But like magic, Veronica just simply asked everyone to introduce themselves with a rhyme through arm and hand motions. From there the class began and like every part of this journey, the campers embraced mindfulness and yoga and stretched themselves in both mind and body.

As they say, a picture speaks one thousand words. As the wrap up we got a real treat from one of the campers. He had created video games and showed them to the entire class. Great enjoyment was had by all.

Day Twelve – Yay! Independence Course celebration field trip to Rileyville cafe. From camp we walked in single file following the safety rules of being a pedestrian. The energy and pride of the campers was in the air. Who would’ve thought two weeks before that any of the campers would have associated exercise with having fun. Once we arrived at Rileyville the celebration began. I handed out certificates of completion of the Independence Course to each camper individually, and the campers had so much pride in themselves. After Rileyville, each of the campers received the notebook they had been working on for two weeks; their roadmap to independence! Now I knew my job here was done!

Spectrum Strategies is so thankful to have been a part of such a wonderful program! For more information on Spectrum Strategies and our services, visit us at www.spectrumroadmap.com.