Why did you decide to become an Adventure Camp counselor?
"I wanted to become a counselor because the training and experience at Adventure Camp will help me enhance and expand my professional capacity and expertise to address the need of children suffering from anxiety in general, and selective mutism in particular."
How do you plan to integrate this experience into your educational and professional goals?
"As an Early Intervention Specialist and an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant for Early Head Start and Head Start programs, I will have the opportunity to integrate all that I learn from this experience into my practice. Through being receptive and reflective of all that I learn at Adventure Camp, I will be able to provide support and education to parents, teachers and colleagues about selective mutism."
What do you think you can learn from your camper?
"I am open to learn as much as I can from my camper. I can learn about his/her likes and dislikes, sensory preferences, and communication and learning style. I can also learn what makes my camper unique and special, how to engage him/her, and how s/he has fun!"
What do you hope to take away from this experience?
"I hope to leave Adventure Camp with the satisfaction of having contributed to the achievement of my camper's communication goals while at the same time having gained as much understanding as possible of selective mutism."
If you could talk to your camper right now, what would you tell him/her?
"First, I would mindfully introduce myself with the intention of connecting and making my camper feel comfortable. Then, I would want my camper to know how excited I am to be his/her Adventure Camp counselor!"
