Wow, that is a long title!! This wiki provides information for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Connections Summer treatment program.



My name is Ashley Smigelski and I have been a counselor in the treatment program for the past two years. Connections is a summer treatment program that focuses on cognitive-behavior techniques that target the deficits of children with Asperger's Disorder. Don't know anything or much about Asperger's Disorder?

Well...Asperger's Disorder or AD (to summarize the DSM IV) is qualitative impairment in social interaction marked by the following:
Social Interactions
Restricted/Stereotyped Patterns of Behavior
The disturbances cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning.

There are NOT:

OK so now that you know a little about AD, here is some info about Connections

Directors

It is run by two directions, Dr. Christopher Lopata, PsyD. of UB and Dr. Marcus Thomeer, Ph.D. of Summit Educational Resources. Dr. Susan Putnam and Dr. Robert Nida from Canisius are also involved in Connections and conduct their own research projects. Information sheets are usually handed out in the spring and are also posted on the bulletin board outside of the Psych Office.

Interviews and Handbook

Interviews are conducted at Summit by UB anywhere from late April to the middle of May. Dr. Thomeer and Dr. Lopata conduct the interviews and ask about relveant internship/research experience, desire to be part of the program, interest in the field of Psychology, and experience with children. They inform you of your acceptance or rejection and then the counselors who are chosen return to Summit for a meeting. it is at that time that counselors are assigned to one of two groups: Social Skills or Points. (I have been in the Social Skills group for two years and absolutely love it!!)

There is a handbook that contains info about the program that must be memorized for the written test that is administered the first day of training. You must score a 100% but trust me, most people overstudy. You are allowed to take it over if you do not receive a 100 the first time. Training is a week long, usually the last week in June and consists of counselors getting to know one another. However, it is mostly composed of the protocol for treatment for the kids. The "Points" counselors learn the value of the points system, how to keep track, when to give and take away points, etc. The "Social skills" counselors learn positive reinforcement techniques and how to present the social skills.

Most of the program consists of positive reinforcement of practicing social skills with the kids. During the camp there are four 70 min. social skills cycles that consist of 20 min. to teach a skill and 50 min for an activity. Kids learn basics, from how to introduce themselves to others, to how to have a conversation, to how to understand the feelings of others. All skills are aimed at improving their deficits. The only part that takes getting used to is the specific order that begins the 20 min. cycle. You usually have to define the skill, model the skill for the kids and make sure they understand how to model it before they provide examples and role play. However, everything becomes routine and you catch on fast.

Sutff you probaby REALLY wanna know

So besides the basics, I guess there is still that everyone really wants to know. Well if I was interested in this program, these are the things I'd wanna know...

What are the kids REALLY like?
- The kids are awesome!!! I didn't know anything about AD, so I did not know what to expect...Autistic kids or kids with ODD? Well not to worry. These kids are screened for violent tendancies and only those that the two directiors believe fit the description of those enrolled in this type of camp are accepted. But the personalities of the kids are awesome! They become attached and definitelty bond to you! All the kids range in age from 6-12 and are split up into 3 groups. 6-8 year olds, 8-10 year olds, and 10-12 year olds. I was in the oldest group my first year and those kids were awesome because they could play sports, board games, and were more independent than the little kids. This past year, I had the middle group and those kids were cool cuz they weren't the babies, but they weren't the oldest. And of course, the little ones are always adorable!! The kids also range in severity too. The first year I was at Connections I had a girl who was definitely more Autistic than AD, but she was still high functioning. There are some kids that you can recognize as AD immediately and other you wonder why they are even at the camp!! But overall, the kids are great and there are few, if any, problems with the kids! :)

Who gets chosen as counselors, what are the other counselors like?
- Well, it seems as if the decision on whether or not to accept someone as a counselor is largely based on their enthusiasm for the program and what they can bring to the program for the kids. Enthusiasm is HUGE for the directors because they believe that if we as counselors are not enthused, the kids will NOT want to be at the camp and thus, will learn less. If you really love working with kids and have a good amount of patience, just show it and the rest will pay off...really! Oh yea and the other counselors are great too. There are a mix of kids from UB and Canisius, Damen, Buff State and other locals. Counselors, esp. those in each age group [(there are 3 counselors in every age group) and there are 9 counselors per social skills group and points group.] become really close to one another, and usually end up as good friends by the end of the summer!!

What kind of experience do you get?
- AWESOME clinical experience. Research on AD is one of the cutting-edge topics in Psych today, like ADHD was between 5-10 years ago. The camp itself is well known throughout the COUNTRY and definitely well known locally. It is probably one of the best internships for clinical/counseling Psych available in WNY.

What are the directors like?
- Dr. Thomeer and Dr. Lopata are really great. They are strict on treatment protocol but are work great with the kids and are interactive with the counselors too. Any problems/questions, they are very approachable and are great for writing letters of recommendation for grad school...as a big bonus!

What are the pay/hours like?
- Ha, well unfortunately this is probably the least appealing aspect of Connections. The pay this year was a stipend of $1000 for seven weeks: 1 week of training and 6 weeks of program. The hours this year were 8-4:30, which amounts to a whopping $3.36 an hour!!!!!!!!!! WOW! You will be poor over the summer and if you work another job after Connections, you will be exhausted!!! BUT, before you stop considering this program, there are benefits that can outweigh the negatives. First, this counts for a practicum for Canisius...and yes, I hear that the practicum is now optional, but it is worth three credits and is usually fairly easy to get an A. (It may count for some other type of credit if you look into it) Second, the program looks great on your CV and you can obtain letters of recommendation. At the very least, you can say you have experience, which is great for getting into grad schools. Third, you can get some great research opportunities out of it if you contact Drs. Putnam, Nida, Lopata, or Thomeer. Fourth, there IS at least some sort of stipend...many of my friends who do internships don't get squat!!!! Fifth, you make friends and the kids are great!!!

Overview of the timeline of the program
April/May: Applications/Interviews
Late June: Training (1 week) begins, usually 8-4 at Canisius
July 5th/6th: Program, week 1 begins, meet kids and families
Program runs until 2nd week in August, Monday-Friday.
- This past year it was held from 8-4:30.
- Kids dropped off at 9 am and picked up at 3.
- Hour in the am to set up, talk about activities. Hour and a half to clean up, follow up on kids, score rating scales
- There is a field trip built into the day every Friday...fun times!
- Tues and Thurs. were swimming days this year at Koessler
- Last day of Connections (tear*) is a party/graduation for the kids. You will be sad.

So here is what you CAN expect from this internship


1. Great B-mod and clinical experience under empirically validated treatment protocols
2. Enthusiastic co-counselors and lead counselors...anyone know Jonathan Emiliani!!! Haha, if you do, enough said! :)
3. A seemingly long, tiring 6 weeks, but it flies by, trust me!!
4. Wonderful kids that you bond with and you will be sad to see leave
5. Unfortunately, it is a time commitment and you have to be there the full time every day and cannot be absent. As hard as that sounds, we had one counselor this year who was a mom with two kids under the age of 5 whose husband worked full time. Oh and they had one car too.

So, as you can tell, I absolutely love the program- it really is a great experience and you are sad to see it over at the end of 6 weeks. I can also say that I felt so glad that I didnt have to scramble looking for placements in the fall for my practicum and that I can be confident in my research experience.

Any questions, feel free to email me: smigelsa@canisius.edu

Also, here is the direct website for Connections- http://www.asdrc.org/connections/connectionsmain.asp

I hope this wiki provided sufficient info and answered your questions. Good luck!!
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