Sasha is a child who attends one of our South Shore YMCA after school programs through the Emilson YMCA. Sasha has a small, close group of friends, and can be seen most days doing crafts, playing sports, and trading Pokémon cards. On the surface, like most children, everything seems typical or normal. Sometimes, however, Sasha finds herself in situations where things get out of hand, and things that seem small to Sasha suddenly become big deals to other children.
Sasha struggles with an area of development known as social pragmatics. For Sasha, that means that she cannot always tell what another person’s facial expressions mean, or what their body language is saying. When these social situations get out of hand, it is not because Sasha is trying to be mean, or unkind, she simply has trouble picking up these subtle cues. When humans communicate, especially children, so much of our communication is nonverbal. It is gestures, facial expressions, turns or tucks of the body. When Sasha doesn't notice these cues, miscommunications happen.
Due to the social nature of our after school program, and its mission of youth development and social responsibility, these challenge areas began to become obvious for the afterschool staff working with Sasha. We work with Sasha and her family to help overcome these obstacles and conflicts.
“When one of our children began struggling with social/behavioral challenges, the Y staff were quick to say, ‘How can we help?’ instead of ‘These are the consequences,’” said Sasha’s parents. “The Y staff continues to work with us to find new ways to support Sasha. Their approach comes from a place of knowledge and expertise and their caring is evident.”
Sasha’s trajectory is positive, and her parents see the impact that after school has on the children with whom Sasha interacts, “Our kids come home from after school and want to discuss examples of ‘acts of kindness’ because that has been a point of conversation during their after school time."
Sasha is in the process of getting more support through the public school system, and in the meantime, her parents are grateful for a place like the South Shore YMCA after school program for helping their daughter progress. “The afterschool program is so much more than a place for our children to be supervised,” said Sasha’s parents, “It is a place where their social emotional development continues to be encouraged and supported".
