We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Our Christmas present came a little early this year. What we saw, learned, and experienced during our intensive week in MA was the best gift we could have asked for! Not knowing exactly what to expect, we arrived with open minds and what we saw, learned, and experienced was nothing short of phenomenal! What we saw and learned from the professionals working with Lucas for 8 hours straight per day M-F gave us ideas to bring back and implement with our team, hope for Lucas’ future, and some firsts for Lucas as well. Seeing Luke run and jump into someone’s arms, then bury his head into their chest for at least a 10 second meaningful hug was a sight I’ll never forget! We have so many pictures and videos of the wonderful people from the SonRise team that we will definitely share with you.
The intensive program was just that … intensive! Luke entered the playroom at 9am every day and didn’t come out until 5pm! The SonRise facilitators took 1.5 – 2 hour shifts working with him, food was delivered into the room, and a bathroom was attached to the room so there was no reason to leave the progress that was being made. The facilitators told us that without distractions for 8 hours per day the programs effects would “bake in” more effectively. The proof was apparent as Luke did things he’s never done before such as help someone play the guitar, jump into another one’s arms, give long and meaningful hugs, play interactively for extended periods of time, and even request a squeeze massage or two.
Lucas wasn’t the only one who benefited. We learned so much on how to maximize our program, efficiently track Luke’s progress, help our volunteers be as effective as possible, and the list just goes on and on! All this with one goal in mind … to help Lucas reach his maximum potential!!