Event Two

The second event I went to during this semester was a training about the different positions in the Department ofChildren, Youth, and Family (DCYF). I went to this event during my internship hours with Child Welfare Institute but because I had an extra hour, with approval from my instructor Lesley Bogad, I am going to give some information on what I learned and the connections it has to my class.

During the event I went to, I learned how the different positions in DCYF are performed and how they interact with one other especially the children. According to Nakkula (2010), every interaction a child has with an adult forms an impression upon their thoughts and feelings. With the children that come in contact with DCYF on a daily basis, they are constantly forming impressions about different types of people. The children who are taken into protective services are taking the pain they were going through at home and questioning what will the adults be like that they come in contact with next. Each position in the DCYF is coming into contact with children from different cultures and races. We as the youth worker/social worker, have to be prepared for the barriers and obstacles that these children present. As a social worker or Youth Development worker, we must present to these individuals a positive and considerate experience, for many of these children have been in and out of the system numerous times. Their trust for adults is very limited. For many, their outbursts towards others and society is based upon their personal experiences within their home, academics, and peers.

I feel that in order to help these children, we must be able to listen, but yet not be taken advantage of. Each individual case calls for an open mind and also to establish a trust and confidence between yourself and the client. If there is to be improvement, it must be dealt with from both sides of the coin, and the programs put in place to assist the client must be to their specific needs.

 

Resilient Kinds:Mindfulness

According to John Mikle ET:AL from Mindful Magazine, “Training students in mindfulness {Demonstrates benefits} including improvements in working memory, attention, academic skills, social skills, emotional regulation, and self-esteem, as well as self-reported improvements in mood, decreases in anxiety, stress, and fatigue”. Resilient Kids is the organization that does just that. This organization helps students to relax and concentrate on the now through different types of activities. These different activities help the children be more aware of mindfulness and allow them to know how to calm themselves. The techniques of mindfulness have helped children with their academics by receiving better test scores, better grades, and overall a better attitude in the classroom setting.  One of the activities they talked about in the Resilient Kids video was the Glitter Jar. By making a glitter jar, it allows the child to place all their worries and stress (glitter) into the jar and shake it up whenever they are feeling anxious. After they have shaken the jar, they set the bottle down and watch all the glitter fall to the bottom of the jar until every last piece is done. Doing this symbolizes for the child their worries floating away and calming the storms sort of speak.

                After learning a little about these different practices, I can see these techniques being used with helping children with disabilities; especially children with ADHD. Children with ADHD are extremely hyper and sometimes have difficulties zoning into their academics in school but also helping themselves to calm down and concentrate. These few activities that Resilient Kids does with the students could help these children with ADHD learn strategies to use not only in their academic surroundings but also in their everyday home life too.

If you would like to know how to make a glitter jar just click here