Josh/Camp Royall/2011 form notes

This page is a draft; editing is still in progress. Information may not be accurate or current.

Preface

As I write this (mid-February), Josh has just been admitted to a group home at RHA Howell after 9 months of intensive communication and socialization therapy at The Hughes Center.

Since Josh has not been at home, we have not yet directly observed many of the advances he has made in his training, so these updates are based on reports we have received verbally and at monthly Treatment Team meetings. For a more detailed and accurate assessment, we will be happy to put you in touch with his treatment team at RHA and his former team at Hughes.

My camper communicates...

Josh is reportedly using a GoTalk-9 electronic device to indicate a limited number of needs; his usage of this will hopefully have expanded somewhat by this summer, as he only began using it in November. He also uses PECS picture schedules.

Prior to learning the GoTalk, he almost never used any means of deliberate communication; it was necessary to anticipate his needs and discern his wants based on his actions. For example, at home he would often open the refrigerator door when he is hungry. He would not indicate what type of food he wanted, however; the closest he came to indicating a preference is that if we said the right thing, he might quickly turn away (as if he's thinking "ok, that's settled, need to go somewhere else before they change their minds").

I communicate with my camper...

Using a sing-song voice works best when trying to convey information to him verbally. He responds well to many short phrases when said this way ("(put your) socks on", "(put your) shoes on", "(put your) seatbelt on", "(we're going for a) ride in the car-car"). We tend to address him as "Joshy" when trying to convey instructions to him.

He gets much of the meaning from context (rather than words); this can include pointing, handing him things, etc. (When he is cooperating with getting dressed, for example, you can just hand him the various items of clothing and he will put them on to the best of his ability.)

As mentioned, however, he has been using a GoTalk and a PECS schedule, so those would probably be the best first avenues for communication.

Sleeping

The patterns I have checked off on this form are how he slept before he moved to The Hughes Center. We've been told that his sleeping patterns at Hughes had settled down and haven't been a problem, but we're not sure exactly what that means (e.g. he might be staying awake quietly, or pacing within his room but not bothering anyone).

We're not sure how he has slept in past sessions at Camp Royall, but the impression we get is that it hasn't been a problem because he is engaged enough during the day that he is tired out at night. If he has actually been sleeping through the night at Hughes, that would seem to reinforce the idea that he sleeps well at night when he is kept busy during the day -- which would be the case at Camp Royall.

It has been mentioned that he was unhappy and restless during afternoon naps during previous sessions of Camp Royall; perhaps an activity could be found for him during that time as well? He certainly doesn't seem to need any down-time during the day.

Activity / Attention Level

Josh can maintain focus on an activity if it interests him, but he may or may not find any given activity interesting. He may also need prompting to get started.

Behaviors

He only hits when very agitated or when he needs something (usually food) and feels he is being ignored. AS far as we know, this has never happened at Camp Royall -- even in 2008, when his behavior was at its very worst.