Many older speech therapy clients have goals about interacting in the community with socially appropriate greetings and conversations, so summer is a perfect time to get out into our towns and practice what we’ve learned throughout the year.
I really look forward to these “outings” as James calls them or “outings with a purpose” from my end. Clearly his favorite visit is to the Volvo dealership in Westport, CT, where he feels like a rock star as every employee he meets warmly engages him and showers him with “goodies” as he calls them. In preparation for our visit yesterday, we had to go over the fact that we can’t ask for presents
but need to wait for people to give them to you, and James was very respectful of that. He did put on his new Volvo T-shirt to surprise his dad when he was picked up. (Dad has another kind of car so we like to rub it in:)
It’s so refreshing for me to see a whole workplace where I can bring my friend with special needs to reinforce his learning and encourage him in an area of high interest, cars. These visits provide the topic for many conversations throughout the year as James remembers every detail of his visit, and comments how everyone likes him there. Can’t beat that feeling!