Unstuck and On Target???

[Anonymous]

Is anyone able to provide specifics about this 'Unstuck and On Target' program and how it helped their child?
E.g., My child has/had X issue and the program has helped them to do Y and they did so by practicing/implementing Z.

I am curious because I don't want to pay $2500 for a program that is teaching a different, higher-priced version of the same techniques as other organizations. I would love to try everything, if money were no object, because I will do (almost) whatever it takes to get my child to be as "normal" as possible. I am willing to try this program if it has been effective for others (although every child is different), but I have not read the book and I am unsure of the difference between this program and other social group programs. I know that I should read the book, but with the back-and-forth to therapies, doc appointments, groups, assistance with de-escalation at school, it probably will not happen soon. Thanks for any feedback!!

[Anonymous]

My child is finishing it now. Two things have made it more successful for us than social skills groups we've done in the past: the parent group gives really important information that means we can have more follow through at home and they did an excellent job putting my child with kids at the same level. It's given my child a structure for thinking about behavior that really works for him; he successfully went of anti-anxiety meds for the first time in several years. It targets executive function, not social skills directly. In the semester my child has been in the class, he has become much better at identifying his emotions and identifying (in retrospect) appropriate ways to stay regulated. We're still working on remembering those skills in the moment, but this is a big improvement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is finishing it now. Two things have made it more successful for us than social skills groups we've done in the past: the parent group gives really important information that means we can have more follow through at home and they did an excellent job putting my child with kids at the same level. It's given my child a structure for thinking about behavior that really works for him; he successfully went of anti-anxiety meds for the first time in several years. It targets executive function, not social skills directly. In the semester my child has been in the class, he has become much better at identifying his emotions and identifying (in retrospect) appropriate ways to stay regulated. We're still working on remembering those skills in the moment, but this is a big improvement.

OP here-
That is awesome! I am happy to hear that you have such positive results. I am also happy to hear that there is a parent component along with the class (that is important to me because I need all of the "training" that I can get). How old is your son? If you don't mind me asking, what is your plan at the end of the semester (another program? a follow-on 'USOT' program). Thanks so much for responding!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is finishing it now. Two things have made it more successful for us than social skills groups we've done in the past: the parent group gives really important information that means we can have more follow through at home and they did an excellent job putting my child with kids at the same level. It's given my child a structure for thinking about behavior that really works for him; he successfully went of anti-anxiety meds for the first time in several years. It targets executive function, not social skills directly. In the semester my child has been in the class, he has become much better at identifying his emotions and identifying (in retrospect) appropriate ways to stay regulated. We're still working on remembering those skills in the moment, but this is a big improvement.

OP here-
That is awesome! I am happy to hear that you have such positive results. I am also happy to hear that there is a parent component along with the class (that is important to me because I need all of the "training" that I can get). How old is your son? If you don't mind me asking, what is your plan at the end of the semester (another program? a follow-on 'USOT' program). Thanks so much for responding!

He's 10. I don't know what we'll do in the fall. Next week is the last week, and they said we would get individualized report cards and recommendations for next class. In the fall, DS will have the chance to be on a robotics team (his favorite thing in the world) and if the two conflict, I'm not sure what we'll do.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of threads on this program, OP. Search the archives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is finishing it now. Two things have made it more successful for us than social skills groups we've done in the past: the parent group gives really important information that means we can have more follow through at home and they did an excellent job putting my child with kids at the same level. It's given my child a structure for thinking about behavior that really works for him; he successfully went of anti-anxiety meds for the first time in several years. It targets executive function, not social skills directly. In the semester my child has been in the class, he has become much better at identifying his emotions and identifying (in retrospect) appropriate ways to stay regulated. We're still working on remembering those skills in the moment, but this is a big improvement.

NP. Thank you to PP who responded. Can you give us an example of what might happen in a lesson? Our child who is about your child's age has been through a lot of therapies but if this can help we're also interested in making the investment. It sounds like there is a big emotional regulation component? Were all the children diagnosed with ASD or are there some with ADHD/anxiety like my child but not ASD? It doesn't bother me if he's the only one but don't want to go through the huge intake process and pay for that if they probably won't accept him.

[Anonymous]

I don't really know exactly what they do in a lesson. The head teacher gives us a recap of the topic, but not the activities. The parent class assumes autism, but I know at least one kid in my child's class "only" has ADHD. I doubt they would reject anyone based on diagnosis alone; rather, they would look at functioning/behavior /need. When I was considering it, I had a long phone conversation with the intake person to make sure it was worth applying.

[Anonymous]

NP. PP would you recommend for a child who can already ID feelings and identify what went wrong but who still continues to have occasional overreactions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. PP would you recommend for a child who can already ID feelings and identify what went wrong but who still continues to have occasional overreactions?

New poster. Yes, that sounds fine. They work on making the implicit explicit, so it can help kids who need support in monitoring their own emotional state or other's feelings towards them. For example, they do a lot with showing the changes over time of their 'reputation' with the teachers, by having a scale on the board and showing how it moves up or down in response to specific actions by the kid. It shows them a lot about how others form their feelings towards them, how those feelings are more stable than they often expect, and that small positive changes don't fix everything instantly but do add up over time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. PP would you recommend for a child who can already ID feelings and identify what went wrong but who still continues to have occasional overreactions?

Everyone occasionally over reacts. The curriculum helps build problem solving skills that are helpful in the moment not just the post mortem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. PP would you recommend for a child who can already ID feelings and identify what went wrong but who still continues to have occasional overreactions?

New poster. Yes, that sounds fine. They work on making the implicit explicit, so it can help kids who need support in monitoring their own emotional state or other's feelings towards them. For example, they do a lot with showing the changes over time of their 'reputation' with the teachers, by having a scale on the board and showing how it moves up or down in response to specific actions by the kid. It shows them a lot about how others form their feelings towards them, how those feelings are more stable than they often expect, and that small positive changes don't fix everything instantly but do add up over time.

Very helpful, thank you new poster!

[Anonymous]

I saw a very old thread about all the kids in the Unstuck and On Target program being really sweet, cooperative kids. One of the people posting on the thread said her child who was having issues at the time was not accepted into the program.

PPs who are doing the program now or have done it recently do you agree with this? Trying to figure out if the profile of the type of kid in the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I saw a very old thread about all the kids in the Unstuck and On Target program being really sweet, cooperative kids. One of the people posting on the thread said her child who was having issues at the time was not accepted into the program.

PPs who are doing the program now or have done it recently do you agree with this? Trying to figure out if the profile of the type of kid in the program.

From what I can see from the waiting room, all the kids have very obvious social skills deficits. But I know they are screened for basic classroom behavior and compliance with adult requests. I appreciate this -- it means that the class can focus on the skills that my child needs to work on the most and that are part of the curriculum.

Unstuck is run by Ivymount Outreach, which also runs other programs/classes for kids who need different types of support. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. As I've said earlier in the thread, one of the aspects that has made it successful for us is that they composed the groups so well, so my child is in a group with other kids with similar abilities/challenges.

[Anonymous]

We use it at our FCPS school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We use it at our FCPS school.

Likewise, my child receives it through DCPS--though it's through an Ivymount partnership.