Creative
Engagement
with Families
and Children
By Shea Akers and LeeAnna
Lussier
The 3 W’s –What, Who, Why
 Skill
building is “Family based intervention
tailored to an individual and family’s
needs.”
 The Team: Everyone has a part! CCTA’s,
counselors, recreational therapist, skill
builders, managers, director
 Why skill build with the family and
individual?
Elements of Skill Building
Training
Follow Up/
Documentation
Preparation
Skill
Building
In
Home
On
Campus
Community
Training
Follow Up/
Documentation
Preparation
Skill
Building
In
Home
On
Campus
Community
Training
Training
 On


going education
Cultural differences and regional access
Appropriate professional behavior and
dress
 Periodic
updates and retraining
Cultural Differences Activity
Privilege Checklist
Training
Follow Up/
Documentation
Preparation
Skill
Building
In
Home
On
Campus
Community
Preparation
Preparation
 Knowledge
of family and history
 Review of Safety Plan/ICMP
 Initial contact about visit and family needs
 Research diagnosis, skill deficit activities,
introductory, assessment and exploration
activities
 Consult with Team about potential skills
and challenges
 Build rapport with the child and family
Training
Follow Up/
Documentation
Preparation
Skill
Building
In
Home
On
Campus
Community
In Home Skill Building
In Home Skill Building



Family dynamics, temperament and family
based individualized care.
Build rapport with family
Skill building in multiple phases



Initial assessment and observation to help
identify family needs
Treatment based activities to improve skills
Reintegration Skills to prepare for return to
home
Anatomy of a Skill Build
 Introduce
the activity: give a brief
overview
 Run the activity
 Process the activity
 In home between 2 and 4 hours



May do multiple activities
Vary the tone of the activities
Discuss with parent at beginning and end
of visit
Training
Follow Up/
Documentation
Preparation
Skill
Building
In
Home
On
Campus
Community
Community Skill Building
Community Skill Building
 Community
excursions with staff.
 Utilize before and after Community Skill
Checklist.
 Family outings to home town activities
with staff support- local YMCA, parades
 Daily living skills – handling money, parking
lot safety, etc.
Training
Follow Up/
Documentation
Preparation
Skill
Building
In
Home
On
Campus
Community
On Campus Skill Building
On Campus Skill Building
 Proactive
activities based on family’s
needs and child’s ICMP. (ie. skill deficits,
family dynamic)
 Therapeutic activities (ie. Art Therapy,
Therapeutic Drumming)
 Staff communicating with counselors to
discuss goals and progress
 Revisit in-home skill building sessions
Training
Follow Up/
Documentation
Preparation
Skill
Building
In
Home
On
Campus
Community
Follow Up & Documentation
Follow Up

Document




In Home – sent to The Team that day or next
work day.
On Campus and Community Skill building -in
Group Logs, individual Daily logs, weeklies and
Treatment Team documents.
Skill builder meets with child on campus within
one week for processing their in home skill
building
Skill building updates discussed at Treatment
Team Meetings and Weekly Team meetings.
Initial
Assessments
Treatment
and Skill
Deficits
Skill Building Phases
Reintegration
Skills
Initial Assessment Sessions





Goals: Identifying needs and skill deficits of
the entire Family
Observation of child, family dynamic and
environment
Discussion with family: what needs to happen
for the entire family to be successful
Basic skill building activities that explore child’s
and family’s point of view
Build rapport and gather information, not
making recommendations.
Initial
Assessments
Treatment
and Skill
Deficits
Reintegration
Skills
Skill Building Phases
Treatment and Skill Deficits
 Mid-level
activities based on previously
identified skill deficits and needs for
improvement
 To be completed after first home visit and
initial proactive activities
 Sessions should build upon each other to
work towards reintegration
 Occasionally, review skill deficit check list
with child/family to monitor progress
Skill Deficits and Activities

Family Relational


Cognitive Flexibility


Positive thought games, Puppet Role Plays
Community Skills


Situational Calming Choices, Decision Making Games
Social Skills


Timeliness Games
Emotion Regulation


Routine Games, Shifting Perspective, Compromising Role
Plays
Executive Skills


ie. Mirror Game, Family Posters, Blind Minefield
Roleplay community situations
Free Play as a skill building activity
Activity Resources
 Favorite
Therapeutic Activities for
Children, Adolescents, Families
http://www.lianalowenstein.com/ebooklet.pdf
 https://youthlight.com/
 Therapistaid.com
Post Activity Processing
 Connect
activity to skill deficits
 Use leading questions
 Don’t talk too much- encourage them to
come up with the answers
 Emphasize the importance of the activity
 Identify concrete ways this can improve
their life.
Processing Questions
 How
did this make you feel?
 What did you learn?
 What was difficult?
 What area did you do well in?
 Can you do this again?
 How is this helpful?
 How can you use this in real life?
 Why did we do this activity?
Concrete vs Processing-Based
 Concrete
Skill Builds teach something
before you’ve discussed it.

Emotion Board Games, Anger Balloons,
Impulse Balloon Game
 Processing-Based
Skill Builds do most
teaching after the activity is complete,
during processing.


Sand Play, Blind Minefield, Compromise RP
Do not teach much if participants can’t
reflect on the activity and process well.
Engaging reluctant
families and children
Skill Building Challenges
Creative engagement






Patience and compassion with families as
they navigate difficult situations
Reassuring and communicating with reluctant
families
Use TCI skills: Emotion 1st Aid, Reflective
Responses, Summarization
Highlight changes for the positive
Work to shift the parent/guardian’s
perspective
Build a relationship with everyone, especially
siblings
Creative Engagement cont’d
 Tailoring
activities & structure to dynamic
(ie. Sports for ADHD)
 Ration critical comments and changes
 Highlight family strengths consistently
 Creative motivators ie. Involving family in
planning activities, Special Events, Special
activities
 Schedule your next appointment before
you leave
Skill Build Kits
Treatment and Skill Deficits
Skill Build Kit Suggested Items
Sensory items
1.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Theraputty
Kinetic sand
Stress balls
Texture balls
CD player/ meditation CDs
Physical Items
2.
3.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Soccer ball
Football
Hoolahoops
Cones/line markers/lawn
chalk
Frisbee
Therapeutic activity items
4.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Yoga mat
Sand box toys
Therapy board games
Card games
Puppets
Arts and Crafts
5.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Colored paper
Scissors
Glue sticks and glue
Stickers
Markers/crayons/colored
pencils
Initial
Assessments
Treatment
and Skill
Deficits
Reintegration
Skills
Skill Building Phases
Reintegration Skills
 Final
skill builds in the home, utilizing
advice from Transition Coordinator and
The Team
 Essential for helping to set the child up for
success at home
 Make it fun, happy- celebrate their
progress!
Reintegration
 Wrap
up activities and final questions
 Review and discussion of all skills that
were worked on in a creative way- make
a poster, scrap book, etc
 Review goals achieved, highlighting
strengths and progress.
 Do “first day, last day” activity to discuss
how the child and family felt on their first
skill build and their final skill build.
Questions