Susan Outreach
June 30 – July 1, 2012
William’s biggest motivation is the beach. We spend a lot of time at the beach each summer and find that
William makes amazing progress while he is there. He is also more present and available to us so we
decided to have an outreach at the beach. Susan played with William as well as observed us playing and
then gave us feedback as well as game ideas for how to maximize our time at the beach.
Special Changes since the March 2012 Outreach:
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He is more connected with us and really available. He is watching others play on the beach and is
often mimicking what they do.
He is saying a lot more and indicating what he wants with sounds, not just gestures.
Goals for time at the beach:
 Help William learn to play games with several people
 Teach William how to join in an activity already in progress
 Go after clarity of language when he is really motivated during the game
Techniques for playing on the beach:
 Prepare game for the beach: have an idea of what you are going to do on the beach that day.
Plan a game, set it up before you transition to play with him, and invite him to play when he is not
in the water.
 Calling back to game: when he walks away, call him back 2x and be firm. Be clear in his role and
what you are calling him back to do…..or what he gets when you call him back
 Clarity: always be clear in what his role is and what he gets for playing. And, when he initiates a
game in the ocean, be clear in your modeling. If he asks for “torpedoes”, tell him “come back to me
and I’ll give you another torpedo”
 Be an anchor in the ocean: stay in one spot as he swims around so he knows where you are and
where to come back to. This will give him focus.
 Model the game: show him how the game is played. Ask him to play with you by giving him a
specific job and request he do it. Be direct and clear and celebrate when he watches you play the
game…and even when he just touches a prop. Also celebrate when he plays.
 Continue game: if he walks away and sits down on the shoreline, follow and sit down next to him.
At a green light, draw something relevant to your game in the sand, like a dino. Try to continue the
game in this way to continue the interaction and to show him you can play the game differently.
 Transitions: use 10 – 15 minutes during a transition b/t facilitators to model a game.
o In ocean: Start playing ball in the ocean for example. Clearly model the game and ask him
to participate in a specific way. Cheer and celebrate each other as you and he play.
o On shore: tell William you have a great game to play and that you see “Artur” for example.
You ask Artur to play with you and you 2 model the game, inviting William to play in a
specific way with a specific role. Use the same game during 1 week to give William the
chance to observe the game a few times, get to know it, and be successful when he plays it.
Cheer.
o Lead: the facilitator rotating off is leading the transition. The new facilitator takes the lead
when the first one leaves.
 Other kids: when he is watching other kids participating in games, try that game out with William
at a later time. That was a motivation for him b/c he was watching them, so use the motivation to
teach him how to play that game.
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Susan Outreach
June 30 – July 1, 2012
Walking and singing: if he requests sing when you are walking, encourage eye contact for you to
sing. If he is highly motivated, go for clarity.
Use singing to give instructions about swimming and playing other games
Swimming: use games that help him put his arms over his head to get used to that motion and to
build those muscles
Laminate choices: give him choices on the beach. Take several choices like “sing, walk, swim,
draw, build sand castle, songs, etc” on laminated paper to show him and give him choices while
playing.
Join: as in the playroom, when he is exclusive, join.
Games:
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Dig the moat
Tug of war (into the moat)
Squirt games with different squirt guns
o Squirt sand castles and knock them down
o Squirt his hands, feet, legs, etc
Knocking down castles
Ball
Ring toss
Intertube:
o rides on sand and water
o use to put water inside and then put animals around on the sides to make a village
o ride in ocean; fall off and be silly
Boogie boards
Throw things into the water to him for him to catch or hold onto. Have a string tied to it and
pull him back to you with the string
Fill up the bucket to fill the moat
Build sand animals by showing him a picture, then pack the sand and make the animal; get a
bucket of water to make wet sand so you can pack down the sand and make the animal form
Build sand castles. Use a dump truck to carry the sand from one place to another. Tie a string
on the truck and ask him to pull it to him and dump the sand. Use the truck to carry shovels etc.
back and forth, pulling with the string.
Tie string to toy fish and go fishing. Put motivations on the belly of the fish (squeeze feet,
squeeze hands, etc)
Play “I spy” with binoculars, looking for boats, sand castles, dinos, etc
Put laminated choices on different shovels and stick them up in the sand so you can see them
and he can easily choose them
Make an obstacle course out of buckets
Bowling for buckets, but motivations or songs underneath
Scavenger hunt for songs (under buckets, under chair, in hole, etc)
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