FirstSteps For Friends
Each year, FirstSteps for Kids, a behavioral health provider serving kids with autism, hosts a center-based learning program called FirstSteps for Friends (FS4F) that has the feel of a traditional summer camp while actually remaining a 1:1 highly individualized ABA program. In the context of weekly, kid-approved themes (animals, space exploration, etc.) each child’s Instructor (RBT) remains laser focused on teaching the specific targeted skills their child needs as directed by their FirstSteps BCBA Clinician. As behavior analyst Wai Ling Wu, the Regional Clinical Director of FirstSteps’ East Los Angeles Center explains, “there is a lot of behind-the-scenes preparation that takes place to ensure the FS4F experience is fun, individualized to each child, and rich with learning opportunities. Our kids definitely keep learning at the rapid rate typical at FirstSteps and may even have more opportunities to generalize new skills to a variety of new people and contexts.”
The program’s curriculum leader is Erin Silverman, a FirstSteps clinician and behavior analyst who works at the organization’s Calabasas location and creates each year’s FS4F program for all offices. Silverman has a passion for creating unique learning environments that inspire FirstSteps kids to try new things, use their new skills, and value the incredible social connections they have within their FirstSteps community and beyond. Silverman adds, “Our FirstSteps for Friends summer program is always the highlights of my year! My true passion is creating a program that allows our children to have a wonderful summer filled with new friends and social opportunities, exciting new experiences, and tons of opportunities for learning and growth via the experiential activities we provide including visits from community helpers, community field trips, cooking activities, animal visits, and special events. By participating in our summer program, our kids truly thrive and finish the summer with new skills and new friends.”
Though Silverman leads the charge, the entire FirstSteps clinical team makes the vision become a reality. Every single Clinician and Instructor at FirstSteps is active and involved to ensure each child’s needs are specifically addressed. From the materials prepared, to the daily schedule built that includes customized individual and group experiences, FS4F is a collective effort. Christina Kowan a behavior analyst who has worked at FirstSteps for over 10 years explains, “Our summer program is a lot of additional work for our team, but the smiles we see on our kids’ faces and their collective and visible motivation to enjoy the experience together makes it all worth it. I know we are all already thinking about next summer – determined to make it special.”
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