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The Dilemma Facing Autistic Children In The After School Program The Boys and Girls club of America

Contents

Introduction

Critical Analysis

Organization Overview

SWOT Analysis

Internal & External Factor Evaluations

Problem Statement

Identifying Solutions

○ Possibilities

○ Selected Solution

○ Strategy to Accomplish Selected Solution

Strategies Evaluation

Plan of Action

Reflection

References

The focus of this research is on the dilemma facing autistic children in after school programs

The selected program is the After School Boys and Girls Cub of America

The club was founded in 1860 and has been providing a safe environment for the youngsters

The focus is how the club helps autistic children deal with change, the challenges faced and the strategies to overcome them .

The purpose of this research is on the dilemma facing autistic children in the After School programs .focusing on the Boys and Girls Club of America which was founded in the 1860s to prevent youngsters form becoming delinquents ,by engaging them in after school activities that improves their health, wellbeing and social status .These programs are fit for autistic children who face several challenges such as verbal and non verbal communication difficulties ,social engagement and repetitive conduct .The aim of this research is to analyze the dilemma faced by the autistic children in the After Boys and Girls Club of America due to these challenges .

Critical Analysis

I focus on my role as the unpaid consultant at the club

My responsibility is to strategize on the factors for Improving the operations at the Boys and Girls Club

The Boys and Girls Club’s programs include ;

Sports and Recreation

Education

Art

Heath and Wellness

Character and Leadership development

My role as a consultant at the After Boys and Girls Club responsible for strategizing on the factors for improving the operations at the After School Boys and Girls Club has enabled to gain a deeper insight into the challenges and dilemma facing the autistic children in the club .The After School Boys and Girls Club of America has programs such as Sports and Recreation ,Education ,art ,health and wellness ,character and leadership development . Children between the ages of six and eighteen are welcome to join any Boys & Girls club, regardless of where they live or how much money they have. The club keeps its costs low to attract as many boys and girls as possible to enroll in its programs (Monz et al., 2019). The annual membership fee is $15.00 per year. Furthermore, it provides low-cost transportation to and from nearby schools. No one has ever been turned away due to a lack of funds. This is especially important for autistic youngsters.

Organizational Overview

Background

Founded in 1860 by to help improve the quality of life of the youngsters

Programs include education ,art, health and wellbeing ,and workforce readiness

Charges an annual fee of $15.00

Has received many honors and awards which define its success

Has a wide source of funding from government entities such as The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Justice Department

The Boys and Girls Club of America (BGC) was founded in 1860 by three women from Hartford, Connecticut, to provide a safe environment for youngsters following Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin, and Elizabeth Hamersley's killing. There was a rise in the number of street children engaged in gangs, invading coffee houses, and attacking people in the streets. They founded the first group because they believed that street youngsters deserved a better life and could move away from gang life .The Boys and Girls Club of America offers various programs like Sports & Recreation; Education; The Arts; Health & Wellness; Workforce Readiness; Character & Leadership Development; Teens & Young Adults; Initiatives; Youth of the Year; and My Future which enhances the children’s growth aligned with low annual fees of $15.00 .This has been backed by its wide sources of financing ; government grants ,The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Justice Department and other federal agencies .Additional funding sources include substantial donations and sponsorships from organizations and businesses .

Organizational Overview

Mission Statement

‘to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.’

Organizational overview

Vision Statement

‘Provide a world-class Club Experience that assures success is within reach of every young person who enters our doors, with all members on track to graduate from high school with a plan, demonstrating good character and citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle’

Organizational Overview

Value Statement

‘committed that every kid has what it takes. The mission and core beliefs of Boys & Girls Clubs fuel our commitment to promoting safe, positive and inclusive environments for all. Boys & Girls Clubs of America supports all youth and teens – of every race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, ability, socio-economic status, and religion – in reaching their full potential ’

SWOT Analysis

Internal & External Factor Evaluations

Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix

External Factor Evaluation Matrix

Analysis

The club has a strong mission and vision which has seen receive awards

It receives funding from the funding from the government and federal agencies which makes it easy to carry out its functions

Its strengths include strong financial base and credible reputation

The weaknesses that bar it from achieving its goals include resistance to change and lack of enough resources and specialists

The opportunities available to it is expanding operations through collaboration with the military groups

The major threat is the lack of enough specialists to deal with the sensitive numbers

The club’s mission statement is enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible

Citizens ,while its vision statement is "Providing a world-class experience that convinces every young man entering our doors that achievement is within reach of all graduates on a path to high school with a long-term scheme demonstrating outstanding character and citizenship and leading a healthy lifestyle," Working towards achieving these vision and mission statements has seen it receive awards and accolades ,and funding from both the government and federal agencies .The club has been able to effectively carry out its duties with its main strength being a strong financial base and has the opportunity to expand its operations due to this .It is however faced with the challenge of resistance to change and faces the threat of not having enough resources and specialists to help the children cope with change .

The problem

The outstanding problem facing the club is the member’s being resistance to change

This is caused by a lack of specialists and enough accommodative resources to help them transition into new activities

To validate this ,I conducted a literature review to assess the causes of the autistic children’s resistance to change

The research method was a four step meta synthesis model ,guided by the mind blindness and empathizing systemizing theory

The results revealed that the student’s resistance to change was due to a lack of accommodations and specialists to help them cope with change .

The identified problem facing the club is the autistic children being resistance to change caused by a lack of specialists and enough accommodative resources to help them transition into new activities .I enaged in literature review to validate the causes of resistance to change among autistic children .Hanbury (2004) states that autistic children have difficulty managing and coping with change and advises institutions to provide the children with necessary equipment and support .This is one of the confirmations from the literature that autistic children have difficulty dealing with change .He states that having specialists can help the children cope with change .The research adopted a four step meta synthesis model and relied on mind blindness theory and empathizing systemizing theory to further understand the statement problem .The results revealed that a lack of necessary accommodations and specialists barred the autistic children from adopting to new routines .

Proposed measures to curb the problem

Hiring more specialists

Parents spending more time with the child before introducing a change in routines

Introducing accommodations

The proposed measures to curb the problem include hiring more specialists , Specialists such as behavioral and child psychologists can help the child understand the importance of engaging in the new routine or activity. Introducing necessary accommodations such as timers is an effective way of engaging the students in new activities, especially those involving going out of the house. Also it is essential for the parents to spend more time with their children before subjecting them to changes in routines

Possible solutions

Hiring more specialists

Spending more time with the children before initiating change

Using Required Accommodations Such as Timers to Assist Youngsters in Participating in New Activities

Encourage gradual transitioning

A new habit or activity may create anxiety or dread in autistic children, especially in a unique setting. Fear and overwhelm are common emotions to starting a new job, and they may last for a long time if the organization does not provide the tools or skills to assist individuals. This article focuses on the problems that autistic children encounter in institutions due to a lack of resources and necessary accommodations, and possible solutions .The possible solutions to the problem include hiring more specialists ,spending more time with the children before initiating change ,using required accommodations and encouraging gradual transitioning .

Selection of a solution

An overview of the pros and cons of the four potential solutions

Hiring more specialists

Pros –Help the children transition to new activities

Cons –Limited staff

Spending more time with the child

Pros –Help the child overcome anxiety

Cons –Lack of enough resources to aid in the process

Accommodations

Pros –Developing the child practical abilities

Cons-Requires the help of psychologists

Encourage gradual transitioning

Pros –Helps the children to take it one day at a time

Cons –Frequent interruptions

Before selecting a solution ,it is essential to look at the overview of each solution to determine the most appropriate one .The first solution is hiring more specialists ,its advantage is that it will help the children transition into the new routines while the cons is that the club may be limited by a lack of staff to attend to every child’s needs .The next possible solution is spending more time with the child ,with the pros being enabling the child to overcome their anxiety and the cons being lack of enough resources by the parents to initiate the new changes .The third possible solution is the introduction of accommodations that will help develop the children’s practical skills but will need the help of psychologists .The fourth possible solutions is encouraging gradual transitioning which will help the children to take the transitioning process one day at a time ,but will experience frequent disruptions .

Selected Solution

Selecting a solution

It is important to select the most appropriate solution that would effectively meet the autistic students’ needs

The selected solution is the use of accommodations to help the autistic children cope with change

The proposed solutions narrow down to one ,the use of accommodations such as timers and visuals to help the autistic children cope with change .

Strategies to accomplish the selected solutions

Communicating with the parents

A collaboration between the parents and the teachers would be essential in monitoring the student’s progress with the new students

The synthesized literature on the strategy revealed that a positive relationship between the parents and the teachers yields the best outcomes for the students

There are two strategies to accomplish the selected solutions ,the first is a communicating with the parents . A cooperative approach between parents and teachers is essential in introducing and enforcing accommodations that help autistic students adapt to change in their daily routines (Forest et, al, 2019). The parents can communicate with the teachers on the student’s progress with the introduced accommodation, enabling the schoolteacher to determine whether to introduce new intervention to goad the pupil’s adaption to new routines.

Strategies to accomplish the selected solution

Using visual aids

The second strategy for the introduction of the accommodation for the autistic children to cope with change is the use of visual aids

They include social stories ,video modelling and schedules

The second strategy is the use of visual aids . Autistic children tend to resist change, especially when they do not have access to the needed lodgment to grease the transitions to new activities. Using illustrations such as social stories, video modeling, and schedules is vital in enhancing a smooth transition into the new activities. Chui Ling (2020) identified the part that visual aids played in helping autistic children acclimatize to new surroundings. The author says that visual aids help autistic children manage negative actions such as high anxiety situations, tone- injuries, and violence towards other people.

Evaluation

Evaluation of the strategies

This section utilizes the qualitative strategic plan matrix to determine the relative attractiveness score of the chosen strategies

Helps to determine the most feasible option by analyzing the strategies’ strengths and weaknesses of the strategies

It utilizes the internal and external evaluation matrices to determine the strategy with the highest total attractiveness score

A quantitative strategic plan matrix (Qspm) is an organizational tool used to evaluate strategic options to determine their relative attractiveness .This section analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies through the internal and external evaluation matrices ,to calculate and determine the strategy with the highest total attractiveness scores .

Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix

External Factor Evaluation Matrix

Evaluation of the strategies

The total attractiveness score for the strategies was 7.44 ,

Communicating with parents had an internal score of 5.39 and an external score of 2.05

Using visual aids had an internal attractiveness score of 2.93 and an external attractiveness score of 1.72

The most appropriate strategy is communication with the parents

The results of the internal and external evaluation matrices revealed that the strategies had a total attractiveness score of 7.44 the first strategy is communicating with the parents which had a internal and external attractiveness score of 5.39 and 2.05 respectively .The second strategy is the use of visual aids ,which had an internal and external attractiveness score of 2.93 and 1.72 respectively .Hence ,the most appropriate strategy is constant communication with the parents .

Action plan

Action steps –

Developing a reliable communication channel

Even based engagement

Conferences

Volunteer activities

Anonymous surveys

Timeline –August 1,2021 to May 10 ,2022

Resources – Class Dojo ,Remind , program presentations ,SoGoSurvey tools and questionnaires

The evaluation metrics include comparing the goals with the desired outcomes

The instructors must engage the parents in the planning process and introduce accommodative tools that best suit the student's needs through effective communication between the two parties .This action step is vital in realizing the goal of helping the autistic children deal with change . The first action step is the development of a reliable communication channel between the parents. This is the most crucial step due to the vulnerability of autistic children. The next step is conducting an event-based engagement. This entails organizing an event such as a sports day where every child will participate and inviting the parents to witness how their child behaves and their interaction with the other students (Smith & Patterson, 2012) .

The third is holding conferences to gather their opinions on the best way to implement the accommodations. The purpose of conferences is for the instructor and the parents to share ideas on enhancing communication between the parents and teachers and ensuring sustainability in the long run . Fourth is volunteer activities. Parent volunteers help reduce the instructor's workload for a certain period; they assist the children to adapt to their new environment . The final step is the issue of anonymous surveys . The anonymous survey will reveal how satisfied the parents are with their children's involvement in the after-school activities and the levels of communication between them and the instructors to identify the accommodation tools that need improvement to enhance the student's outcomes.

The plan will take place between August 1 ,2021 and May 10,2022 .The resources needed for the successful implementation of the plan include Class Dojo ,Remind , , program presentations ,SoGoSurvey tools and questionnaires

The metrics of this action plan include tracking of the children’s behavior to determine the most suitable accommodations, enhanced collaboration between the parents and instructors, helping the children to achieve their goals, reducing the instructor's workload, and gathering opinions on the level of parent’s satisfaction with the implemented strategies to identify the areas that need improvement. To determine its effectiveness, every goal will be benchmarked against the corresponding desired outcomes or metrics.

Roles and Responsibilities

Instructors –Design the appropriate accommodations and organizing school events

Parents –Attending the organized school events

Education Technology specialists –Designing and creation of reliable communication tools

Title 1 facilitators –aids in planning and holding conferences

IT specialists –Designing the anonymous surveys and questionnaires

The individuals involved in implementing these action plans are the instructors, the parents, education technology specialists, Title I facilitators, and IT specialists. The instructor’s role is to engage the students in activities, determine their areas of concern, and design the proper accommodations that address their issues. Also ,they are responsible for monitoring the children’s progress and informing the parents (Remillard, et, al, .2020). Also, they should organize an event-based engagement for the parents to discuss the most suitable accommodations for the children .The parents are responsible for attending the organized school events ,the education technology specialists design and create reliable communication tools ,Title 1 facilitators aid in the planning and holding of conferences while the IT specialists design the anonymous surveys and questionnaires to be sent to the parents to gather feedback on the effectiveness of the action plan in helping the children cope with change .

Reflection

Boys and girls club has been in operation since the 1860s bettering the lives of youngsters

Even though faced with challenges ,I believe it is the best solution to helping autistic children cope with change

Implementation of the proposed solutions and the action plan will see it achieve the desired goals .

America's boys and girls club has been in operation since 1860 and has been bettering the lives of youngsters aged between six and sixteen, among them autistic children, by engaging them in after-school activities . However, the club has even faced with the challenge of autistic children being resistant to change when exposed to new activities at the club that are not part of their routines .Introducing accommodations such as visual aids and constant communication with the parents would help it achieve its goals .

References

Forrest, D. L., Kroeger, R. A., & Stroope, S. (2019). Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms and Bullying Victimization Among Children with Autism in the United States. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(2), 560–571.

Hanbury, M. (2004). Educating pupils with autistic spectrum disorders: A practical guide.

Monz, B. U., Houghton, R., Law, K., & Loss, G. (2019). Treatment patterns in children with autism in the United States. Autism Research, 12(3), 517–526.

Ng, C. L. (2020). A Literature Review of How Visual Aids Promote Behavioral Change for Children with Autism. Retrieved from https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/80429/Chui-Ling-Ng-Master-Thesis-Final.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Smith, V., & Patterson, S. Y. (2012). Getting into the game: Sports programs for kids with Autism. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

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