see inbox Kim
.
Tableof Contents
Page
Part
1
: Critical Analysis
Researcher’s Role
1
Description of the Setting
2
Organizational Background and History
3
The Mission Statement
5
The Vision Statement
6
The Value Statement
7
Organizational Reputation and Sustainability
8
Relevant Terms
8
Identify Potential Gaps or Areas for Growth
9
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT)
10
Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE)
1
4
External Factor Evaluation (EFE)
17
Part 2: Define the Problem
21
Synthesis of Literature Related to the Problem
21
Research Methods
26
Pertinent Models, Frameworks, or Theories
27
Summary of Findings
27
Statement of the Problem
28
Description of the Context of the Problem
29
Scope and Significance of the Problem
29
Rationale for Investigating the Problem
30
Well-Defined Problem Statement
30
Part 3: Research Possible Solutions
31
Introduction
31
Possible Solutions
32
Possible Solutions One: Hiring more specialist
32
Possible Solutions Two: Spending more time with child before initiating a
change in routine ………………………………………………………..33
Possible Solutions Three: Using required accommodations such as timers
to assist youngsters in participating in new activities……………………33
Possible Solutions Four: Encourage Gradual Transitioning
34
Part 4: Select a Solution
36
Overview of Four Potential Solutions
36
Pros and Cons of Solutions
37
Hiring more specialist
38
Spending more time with the child before initiating a change in routine
Using required accommodations such as timers to assist youngsters in participating in new activities……………………………………………………38
Encourage gradual transitioning…………………………………………39
Discussion of Barriers
40
Hiring more specialist
40
Spending more time with the child before initiating a change in routine
41
Using required accommodations such as timers to assist youngsters in participating in new activities
42
Encourage gradual transitioning
43
Conclusion
44
Part 5: Strategies to Accomplish the Selected Solution
44
Strategy One Communicating with the parents
45
Synthesis of Literature Related to the Strategy
45
Strategy Two Using Visual aids
46
Synthesis of Literature Related to the Strategy
47
Summary
48
Part 6: Evaluation of the Strategies
49
Quantitative Strategic Plan Matrix
49
Evaluation of Internal Factor Evaluation
50
Discussion of Factors that Influence the Plan
52
Evaluation of External Factor Evaluation
54
Discussion of Factors that Influence the Plan
56
First Alternative Attractiveness Score and Benefit for the Organization
57
Second Alternative Attractiveness Score and Benefit for the Organization
58
Summary of Most Important Strategy
59
Part 7: Development of an Action Plan
60
Action Steps
62
Timeline
64
Roles and Responsibilities
65
Resources
66
Organizational Support
68
Barriers or Resistance
69
Evaluation
70
Reflection on the Overall Experience
70
Part 8: Visual Presentation of SRP
71
Part 8A:
Narrative
of Visual Electronic Presentation
71
Part 8B: Peer Review Questions of Peers
#
Part 8C: Oral Defense of the SRP
#
Narrative Defense of Selected Questions
#
Part 9: Conclusion
#
Findings
#
Recommendations
#
Final Conclusions
#
References
73
Appendices
A Mission Statement
81
B
Vision Statement
83
C
Value Statement
85
Tables
1
Strengths and Weaknesses (SWOT) Factors
12
Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Factors
1
3
3
Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE)
14
External Factor Evaluation (EFE)
18
5
Evaluation of Internal Factor Evaluation
50
6
Evaluation of External Factor Evaluation
54
7
Action Plan
61
Figure
Title in Initial Caps and Lower Case
#
Part 1: Critical Analysis
Researcher’s Role
When autistic children are not in school sessions, after-school activities may offer social and behavioral stimulation outside of the classroom environment; as a former high school Mentor in the program, I am currently an Unpaid Consultant with the Boys and Girls Club of America. As a consultant with America’s Boys and Girls Club of America, I helped create a curriculum and created assessment tools to determine the program’s efficiency in character development. My responsibilities as a consultant culminate into meeting with staff and management to help understand their requirements, collecting necessary data for my research, undertaking short-term and long-term projects like this autism project to address various needs and issues. This helps me develop strategies that are fundamental to the improvement and efficiency of the organization. The Boys and Girls Club of America offers various programs like Sports & Recreation; Education; The Arts; Health & Wellness; Workforce Readiness; Character & Leadership Development; Teens & Young Adults; Initiatives; Youth of the Year; and MyFuture (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 2021). Other programs offered in the club include programs to help autistic children develop cognitive functions, i.e., character and cognitive function development.
Autism is a developmental condition that affects children’s ability to engage socially and communicate. Autism is classified as an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) since it presents differently in everyone, ranging from mild to severe. Specific enrichment programs require admission based on a particular autism diagnosis or level of functioning on the spectrum (Monz et al., 2019). Autism, autism spectrum disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) are terms used interchangeably to describe a set of complicated brain development problems. The condition is characterized by verbal and nonverbal communication problems, social engagement, and repetitive conduct (Monz et al., 2019). As a consultant, the focus is on character development, which I facilitate by helping children develop cognitive skills and improve their communication skills to improve their social engagement with other children in the club. PDD children have more excellent linguistic skills than autistic children do, yet they cannot talk or engage socially (Arbreton, 2009).
Many schools have specialized in treating children with autism and other developmental disorders throughout the globe, intending to assist children in living self-sufficient, prosperous lives as contributing members of their communities. The Boys and Girls Program, for example, is an excellent example of an after-school program. My role as a consultant is specific to Autism children, where I provide an individualized assessment based on character development, general autism consultancy, and social skill development.
Description of the Setting
The Clubs’ various activities support its operations and assist all after-school students, including autistic youngsters. Among the various programs offered at the Boys and Girls Club of America, I specialize in ‘The Character and Leadership Development Chapter’ whose main focus is to encourage good character, empower the youth, and make a positive impact in society (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 2021). The Character and Leadership Development Chapter, the chapter that I was actively engaged in, prepare, and empowers children to assist and make a positive impact in their community, form meaningful relationships with others, develop a positive self-image, participate in a democratic process, and respect their own and other cultures (Arbreton, 2009). The other programs offered within the chapter for autistic children include education and professional development programs that help young people enhance their fundamental education abilities, apply what they have learned, and utilize technology to excel in their chosen field – investing in healthcare and life skills. The program teaches autistic children how to participate in healthy activities that improve their well-being, establish personal objectives, and live independently as adults (St. James, 2005)). Arts programs assist children in developing their creativity and cultural knowledge via visual arts, crafts, performing arts, and creative writing (Swigert & Boyd, 2010). They also assist pupils in enhancing their communication abilities. Sport, exercise, and leisure activities help people improve their physical health, make better use of their free time, acquire stress management techniques, and better understand the environment and society.
Some chapters of the Boys and Girls Club of America have been at the forefront of local youth development. Children between the ages of six and eighteen are welcome to join any Boys & Girls club, regardless of where they live or how much money they have. The club keeps its costs low to attract as many boys and girls as possible to enroll in its programs (Monz et al., 2019). The annual membership fee is $15.00 per year. Furthermore, it provides low-cost transportation to and from nearby schools. No one has ever been turned away due to a lack of funds. This is especially important for autistic youngsters.
Organizational Background and History
The Boys and Girls Club of America (BGC) was founded in 1860 by three women from Hartford, Connecticut, to provide a safe environment for youngsters following Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin, and Elizabeth Hammersley’s killing. There was a rise in the number of street children engaged in gangs, invading coffee houses, and attacking people in the streets. They founded the first group because they believed that street youngsters deserved a better life and could move away from gang life. The key to the experience was developing an environment that piqued boys’ attention, altered their behavior, and raised their expectations and goals. It was a signal indicating the start of a movement. In 1906, several Boys Clubs banded together to establish an organization. The founding of the Federated Boys Clubs of Boston in 1898, with 53 member groups, signaled the start of a national movement and creating our National Organization. Boys Clubs of America was founded in 1931 as the successor organization to the American Boys Club Federation, founded in 1910. As part of its 50th-anniversary celebrations in 1956, the Boys Clubs of America received an official proclamation from the United States Congress. In 1990, the national parent company’s name was changed to Boys and Girls Club of America to reflect that the organization now encompassed young women and children (Arbreton, 2009).
Consequently, the United States Congress amended and expanded our nation’s founding document, the Constitution. The Constitution is a binding document that outlines the club’s purpose, mission, vision, and core values that every member needs to uphold. Boys and Girls Club of America offer nearly 4 million young people a haven to discover their potential in a positive environment, preparing them for a bright future. Millions of young people are still impoverished and will be unable to overcome the gap on their own (St. James, 2005). As a result, the American Boys and Girls Club of America has made a concerted effort to help more people, especially physically or intellectually challenged ones.
The Mission Statement
As stated in its mission statement, Boys and Girls Clubs of America seeks to assist all young people, especially the most vulnerable, in realizing their potential as productive members of their community who are creative, compassionate, and responsible
citizens.
Boys and Girls Clubs are committed to providing a safe, healthy, and well-publicized environment for all its members to achieve their goals (Our Mission & Story, n.d.). The Boys & Girls Clubs of America encourages children and adolescents of every race, ethnicity, nationality, transgender status, sexual identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, socioeconomic situation, or religious affiliation to reach their full potential (Swigert & Boyd, 2010). The Boys and Girls Clubs of America’s mission statement emphasizes the importance of reaching underprivileged communities of young girls as their primary goal, and it is supported by a proclamation of the Organization (St. James,2005)). The phrase also implies that the company promotes the employment of various methods to assist workers in improving their overall personality development.
This shows that the stated mission is focused on human development. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) assist people in need to enhance their life chances. In an ideal world, the Organizations strive to bridge the gap between poor Americans and the rest of the world by helping them during one of life’s most crucial periods. This explains why the Boys and Girls Clubs of America refer to their programs as “afterschool activities.” The operations of this Organization are aimed at addressing issues affecting these children as soon as possible and giving equal opportunities for successful adult life on par with those of other children in the community (St. James,2005). The Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGC) declare that the safety and wellbeing of its members is their priority. This is just one of the numerous ways the Organizations’ young children have a better opportunity in life by working to keep them safe.
They are improving the quality of life in the neighborhood. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) demonstrate in this section of their purpose and vision statement that its impact extends beyond assisting individual young members. It does this by identifying and combating the many societal problems that endanger children today, such as the marginalization of the physically and intellectually handicapped and the LGBT communities. For example, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America recognize that children’s capacity to think about and prepare for their future is impaired by fear of physical harm, which significantly affects the society in which they live. As a result, the Organizations establish favorable conditions in these cultures to guarantee that children survive and flourish. This strategy is based on the notion that when young people succeed, their communities benefit as well.
The Vision Statement
“Providing a world-class experience that convinces every young man entering our doors that achievement is within reach of all graduates on a path to high school with a long-term scheme demonstrating outstanding character and citizenship and leading a healthy lifestyle,” states the vision of Boys and Girls Clubs of America. The company aims to improve the overall outcome of its lives by creating programs that assist young people in reaching their full potential. To fulfill this aspect of its mission statement, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America provide clubs for young people and incorporate activities that positively affect their lives throughout their whole program. The following components of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America vision statement: Experiment with an excellent club atmosphere (Our Mission & Story, n.d.).
For instance, the Organization collaborates with military groups in the United States to help children whose lives are often disrupted by frequent relationships and other problems. Additionally, homeless and underprivileged indigenous youth are given a place to call home, enabling them to compete with other youth throughout the country. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America distinguish itself via these efforts from more conventional juvenile groups that do much less (Our Mission & Story, n.d.)—creating a plan. Boys and Girls Clubs of America meet the criteria of this component via a range of programs that offer hands-on skill development opportunities for all its young members. One example is developing athletic and recreational skills and refining creative talents, career guidance, character and leadership development, and other life skills, such as promoting healthy lifestyles. People who benefit from the Organization’s activities have shown their capacity to participate in democratic processes such as voting and advocating on their behalf. They participate in the club’s electoral processes and sign up for leadership positions to help make a difference.
The Value Statement
The Boys and Girls Club does not have a stipulated value statement, and however, the organization has guiding principles that guide the actions of all Boys and Girls Clubs of America workers and stakeholders. To be successful, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America must first raise public awareness of the need for assistance among youngsters (Monz et al., 2019). Furthermore, the group promises to help all adolescents in need, regardless of race, ethnic origin, or other kinds of prejudice, and it seeks the governments and well-wishers’ full support.
Organizational Reputation and Sustainability
The Organization received many honors bestowed upon former members who have lauded the group’s achievements and success. Consequently, the group has an excellent reputational credit rating. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America are funded in several ways, including via government grants. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Justice Department and other federal agencies Additional funding sources include substantial donations and sponsorships from organizations and businesses like these. This adds to its continued viability and functionality.
Relevant Terms
Autism –Autism is a condition characterized by various conditions such as retarded development, social and cognitive skills, and speech problems (Munib, 2019)
Autistic children –Autistic children have difficulty communicating, have narrow interests, and need physical activities and therapy to enhance their development.
Enrichment programs –Enrichment programs are part of after school activities that give autistic children or other children a chance to develop their interests outside the classroom (Harpine, 2013)
After school programs –These are programs that teenagers or youths can voluntarily engage in outside the regular school days, usually conducted by clubs (Harpine, 2013)
Applied behavior analysis –applied behavior analysis is a scientific principle focused on analyzing behavioral and learning changes, usually among autistic children or children with related conditions, and how they are affected by the environment (John et al., 2020)
Indigenous youths –Indigenous youths are youths aged between 15 to 24 years.
Marginalized groups –Marginalized groups are highly vulnerable members of society who often suffer exclusion from public forums limiting their participation or engagement in social and political life. Examples include senior citizens, persons with autism, and cognitive impairments.
Boys and Girls Club of America-The Boys and Girls Club of America offer afterschool activities to children between 6 to 12 years to enhance their physical health improve their academic prowess and help them become better members of the community.
Identify Potential Gaps or Areas for Growth
A SWOT analysis is a tool used to analyze an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It enables an organization to focus on what it does well, address its shortcomings to reduce the effects of risk, and take advantage of the growth opportunities. I conducted a SWOT analysis for the After-school programs by America’s Boys and Girls Club of Americas. The SWOT analysis entails 40 internal and external factors that affect the organization. Internal factors are the strengths and weaknesses that accrue from within the organization.
In contrast, external factors outside the organization may positively or negatively impact the Character and Development Chapter of America’s Boys and Girls Club of America. A weighted score, an average of a set of grades, was used in this project during SWOT analysis calculations. A rating score was assigned to each factor and used to develop a plan to ensure the organization attains its goals.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT)
A SWOT analysis is a tool used to analyze an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It enables an organization to focus on what it does well, address its shortcomings to reduce the effects of risk, and take advantage of the growth opportunities. I conducted a SWOT analysis for the Afterschool programs by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. The SWOT Analysis entails a list of 40 internal and external factors that affect the organization. The internal factors are the strengths and weaknesses that accrue from within the organization, while the external factors are factors outside the organization that may positively or negatively impact the Boys and Girls Club of America. A rating score was assigned to each factor and used to develop a plan to ensure the organization attains its goals.
Strengths
The Boys and Girls Clubs of America have much strength to improve the children’s lives and wellbeing. These strengths include a broad financial base, a credible reputation for instilling hands-on development skills in the children and keeping their costs low to accommodate students from different backgrounds.
Weaknesses
Among the weaknesses of America’s boys and girls, clubs for autistic children include frequent disruption and disorganization from the members, lack of enough resources and specialists to attend to the children’s needs, and not dealing with the sensitive members.
Opportunities
The Boys and Girls Clubs of America have several opportunities to build on to improve the lives and wellbeing of their members. These opportunities include collaborating with the military groups and taking advantage of this collaboration to expand its operations and improve the lives of its members.
Threats
Autistic children have experiences with social phobia, excessive nervousness, intense behavior, hyperactive arousal, or appearing “shell shocked,” phobias, anti-social behaviors, rigorous workouts, and resistance to change. Such behaviors become a threat to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, who have to find ways of dealing with the problems that may arise due to the children’s uncontrollable behavior. These threats include conflict with the authorities due to a loud and chaotic environment, the member being resistant to change and exposing other children to socio phobic members.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
1.
Provide professional and educational development
2. Enhanced participation in healthy activities
3.
Wide Sources of finance
4.
Has a credible reputation
5. Acts as home to underprivileged youths
6. Prioritizes safety and wellbeing of the autistic children
7.
Provide sporting activities that improve physical health
8.
Keeps their charges low to attract more students
9.
Provide low-cost transportation to and from nearby schools
10. Offers hands-on skills development opportunities
Weaknesses
1. Has limited geographical existence
2.
Limited support staff
3.
Dealing with the sensitive members
4. Lack of enough specialists to attend to the members in case need arises
5.
The institution lacks public awareness
6.
The issue of time management
7.
Disorganization due to the diverse needs
8. Frequent disruptions of the everyday routines
9.
Lack of trust by the members
10.
Inability to attend to the different member’s needs
Opportunities and threats
Opportunities Factors
1. Collaborate with the military groups
2. Take advantage of the extra funding to expand its operations
3.
Put up additional programs to impact more lives
4.
Extend its services to the families and the communities
5.
Utilize its resources to ensure that the children survive and flourish
6.
Give equal opportunities for the successful transition of members into adult life
7.
Incorporate stress management techniques through the sporting activities
8.
Working with different specialists
9.
Promote physical activities to improve the member’s health
10.
Use its good reputation to gain the public’s trust
Threat Factors
1.
Marginalization of the physically and mentally disabled children
2. Exposing students to social phobic members
3.
The possibility of members developing complications due to the rigorous workouts
4.
Cases of the members being resistant to change
5.
Not having enough specialists to deal with hyper arousal’s
6. Dealing with the frequent meltdowns and shutdowns
7.
Conflict with the authorities due to loud and chaotic environments
8. Lack of faith by the members
9.
The possibility of incurring losses due to destructions made by the rogue members
10. Reduced physical engagement due to the pandemic
.
Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE)
Boys and Girls Clubs focuses on improving the lives of autistic students by exposing them to activities such as sporting and art programs that enhance their development and improves their physical and mental health. The club has been successful due to its access to vast sources of finance, good reputation, low charges, and offering of skills that promote cognitive development. On the other hand, the club faces specific challenges such as frequent disruptions of the club activities, disorganization, and lack of trust.
Internal Evaluation Factor Mat
|
Key Internal Factors |
Weight |
Rating |
Weighted Score |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
1. |
Provide professional and educational development |
0.06 |
0.2 4 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
2. |
Enhanced participation in physical activities |
0.04 |
3 |
0.1 2 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
3. |
Wide Sources of finance |
0.18 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
4. |
Has a credible reputation |
0.05 |
0.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
5. |
Acts as home to underprivileged youths |
0.07 |
0.28 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
6. |
Prioritizes safety and well-being of the autistic children |
0.16 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
7. |
Provide sporting activities that improve physical health |
0.21 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
8. |
Keeps their charges low to attract more students | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
9. |
Provide low-cost transportation to and from nearby schools |
0.15 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
10. |
Offers hands-on skills development opportunities |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Weaknesses |
Rating |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Diverse Members needs |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Limited support staff | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dealing with the sensitive members |
0.08 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Diverse member needs that make it difficult for available specialists to deal with |
0.14 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The institution lacks public awareness |
0.10 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The issue of time management | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disorganization due to the diverse needs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Frequent disruptions of the everyday routines for staff |
0.03 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lack of trust by the members | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inability to attend to the different member’s needs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
TOTAL |
1.0 0 |
2.72 |
Internal Factor Assessment
· Enhanced participation in healthy activities –The core strength of the Boys and Girls Club is engaging the children, the autistic children, in physical activities. Studies show that physical activities improve autistic children’s motor skills, reduce aggressiveness, and improve overall health.
· Provide sporting activities that improve physical health –The other internal factor is engaging the students in sporting activities such as arts programs that improve their motor and cognitive skills, a significant challenge for autistic children. Hence, providing such services enhances the Club’s financial situation and creates avenues for increasing its financial base.
· Prioritizes the safety and wellbeing of autistic children –Most autistic children are not independent and may often wander off and do things that may jeopardize their safety in the absence of caregivers, specialists, or adults. It is therefore important to prioritize their safety even as one engages them in other physical activities.
· Offers hands-on skills development opportunities –Offering skills that enhance development opportunities is vital for autistic children. They are usually behind other children by six months in terms of gross motor skills; therefore, training them is an adept way of accelerating their motor and cognitive skills development.
· Frequent disruption of the regular routines –The weaknesses or the challenges likely to be faced by the Organization’s frequent disruption of routines as autistic children find it challenging to adapt to regular changes of activities. Hence, the caregivers may have to make regular changes or disrupt the everyday routines to cater to their needs.
· They are dealing with sensitive members –One of the inevitable challenges the Organization faces is dealing with sensitive members. Hypersensitivity is a common characteristic of autistic children, and they randomly shake their hands, produce strange noises or stare blankly at objects. Finding ways of dealing with such members without disrupting the everyday routines may be a challenge.
· Disorganization due to the diverse needs –Closely related to the point above is experiencing frequent disorganizations while attempting to attend to the diverse needs. The Organization’s priority is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children; it will therefore have to overcome the obstacles and find ways of handling the diverse needs.
· Lack of enough specialists to attend to the member’s diverse needs – not all the specialists can attend to each of the children’s needs. Autistic children need physical therapists, speech therapists, psychologists, paediatric neurologists, and developmental paediatricians, unavailable at the Boys and Girls.
External Factor Evaluation (EFE)
The Organization’s vast sources of finance from large institutions expose it to various opportunities that it can utilize to its advantage. It can collaborate with the military groups to improve the Club’s activities, extend services beyond individuals to families and communities and, utilize its resources to ensure the safety of its members. On the other hand, the Organizations have numerous threats such as neighbourhood violence that may jeopardize their operations, dealing with members who are resistant to change, and possibly preexposure to social phobia.
External Factor Evaluation Matrix
|
Key External Factors |
||||||
| Opportunities | ||||||
|
Collaborate with military groups |
||||||
|
Take advantage of the extra funding to expand its operations |
||||||
| Put up additional programs to impact more lives | ||||||
| Extend its services to the families and the communities |
0.02 |
|||||
| Utilize its resources to ensure that the children survive and flourish | ||||||
| Give equal opportunities for the successful transition of members into adult life | ||||||
| Incorporate stress management techniques through the sporting activities | ||||||
| Working with different specialists | ||||||
| Promote physical activities to improve the member’s health |
0.01 |
|||||
| Use its good reputation to gain the public’s trust |
0.09 |
|||||
|
Threats |
||||||
| Marginalization of the physically and mentally disabled children | ||||||
|
Exposing students to social phobic members |
||||||
| The possibility of members developing complications due to the rigorous workouts | ||||||
| Cases of the members being resistant to change | ||||||
| Not having enough specialists to deal with hyper arousal’s | ||||||
|
Dealing with the frequent meltdowns and shutdowns from autistic children |
||||||
| Conflict with the authorities due to loud and chaotic environments | 0.1 | |||||
|
Lack of faith by the autistic children in the organization |
||||||
| The possibility of incurring losses due to destructions made by the rogue members | ||||||
|
Prone to neighborhood violence |
||||||
|
1.00 |
1.89 |
External Factors Assessment
· Take advantage of the extra funding to expand its operations. The organization receives funds from large public bodies such as the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Justice Department and donations and scholarship Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention of the Justice Departments from businesses and well-wishers. It can utilize its funding to expand its operations beyond America. There are currently 4,000 clubs in the 50 states serving more than 4 million young boys and girls.
· Utilize its resources to ensure that the children flourish and survive –Most autistic children’s underdevelopment is due to a lack of resources such as funds to attend therapies and attend inclusion schools or clubs where they can interact with the other children. The Organization utilizes its resources to ensure the children have access to resources and institutions that enhance their performance.
· Collaborate with the military groups to improve the member’s wellbeing –Boys and Girls Club collaborates with the military to restore members’ lives disrupted by certain activities to their normal state. Exposing children with autism to ever-changing environmental activities can have a toll on their development, and hence it is essential to implement ways of averting such occurrences.
· Working with different specialists –The Club has access to a wide range of specialists that can cater to the diverse children’s needs in different geographical locations. This can help attend to various and ever-changing members’ needs.
· Prone to neighborhood violence –Despite having access to various opportunities to enhance its operations, the Boys and Girls Club is exposed to several threats. First, being prone to neighborhood violence is as most adults abuse autistic children, deeming them not essential members of society. Such individuals may extend their hatred to clubs such as Boys and Girls and disrupt the normal operations.
· Marginalization of physically disabled children –marginalization of autistic children or physically disabled children is still widespread despite the increased human rights activism that criticizes such acts. This also affects institutions and clubs that care for autistic children; the Boys and Girls Club is no exception.
· Conflicts with the authorities due to loud and chaotic environments –Autistic children tend to be loud and chaotic; the Club can be at loggerheads with the authorities due to such acts.
· Members being resistant to change-Autistic children are often resistant to change, especially when exposed to new activities or routines, and may throw tantrums, disrupting the everyday activities in the surrounding facilities.
Part 2: Define the Problem
Synthesis of Literature Related to the Problem
Autistic children prefer sticking to routines and may find it challenging to adapt to new environments and activities. Autistic children might resist participating in outdoor activities if they were used to staying indoors, going to new places, joining social clubs such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, changing schools, and having to do things at different times than they are used to. It is upon the Boys and Girls Clubs of America to This can be a challenge to their caregivers, parents, and instructors who wish to integrate the necessary resources and accommodations to help the children cope with the new environment. This is, however, a challenge as these institutions lacks the resources such as specialists and accommodations, making it difficult for autistic children to cope with the new environments. This causes the children to stop attending the afterschool programs in Boys and Girls Clubs and drop out of school. This paper reviews the literature on the lack of resources in institutions to help autistic children deal with new environments.
Measures that can be taken to curb the problem
Autistic children’s resistance to change is a normal thing as the students prefer performing tasks through routines. Exposing the students to new routines may harm their behavior, and they tend to refrain from participating in such activities. The after-school programs in Boys and Girls clubs of America offer programs that enable students of all social backgrounds, races, ethnicity, and sexual orientation to reach their full potentials. Students who opt-out of these programs may miss essential factors that may help them reach significant milestones in their lives. This resistance to change is usually caused by a lack of resources or accommodations in America’s Afterschool Boys and Girls Clubs. These resources include accommodations that enable the students to engage in activities with the other students and the specialists to help them transition. Institutions can take up the following measures to help autistic children cope with change.
· Hiring more specialists –Specialists such as behavioral and child psychologists can help the child understand the importance of engaging in the new routine or activity. They can offer the children emotional support to encourage them to embrace the new environment and offer guidance on relating with the other children.
· Spending more time with the child before initiating a change in routine -Parents also play a crucial role in enabling autistic children to cope with change. Institutions should encourage autistic children to spend time with their children as they prepare the students for the expected changes in the routine.
· Introducing necessary accommodations such as timers is an effective way of engaging the students in new activities, especially those involving going out of the house. For instance, if the child’s routine involves indoor activities and the parents wish to introduce outdoor ones at an institution, they could set timers that indicate the end of their favorite activities and time to engage in new activities, such as attending the boys and girls club for the first time before they get used to the new routines. In addition, autistic children have different cognitive functions and are easily distracted by rowdy and loud environments. Institutions should consider providing accommodations such as earplugs to reduce rowdiness and help the students to focus on what is essential.
· Taking it slow and steady adapting to new routines can prove to be a challenge to everyone, including autistic children who prefer being subjected to fixed routines. Parents and caregivers at institutions can support these children by taking it slow and steady, taking part in one activity at a time. This includes supporting them until they get used to the new activity, then introducing more complex approaches once they get comfortable and used to the new activities. This should continue until the child can take part in the new activities independently without any extra help.
Literature review
Most researchers have compiled evidence to depict autistic children’s inability to cope with change due to lack of necessary resources, a significant threat facing America’s Boys and Girls clubs. Jane et al. portray how families with autistic children dread planning vacations, Christmas, and new activities, things average families take for granted. This causes frustration to the families who try to do something nice for their children, but it turns out that they are doing more harm than good. Such families must watch the children struggle to adjust to the usual transition from weekdays and weekends. Autistic children do not readily embrace change; every change, however subtle it may be, is usually accompanied by negative feelings of anxiety and frustration. These frustrations and feelings of anxiety are usually considered worth it, especially if it involves projects that are likely to have positive outcomes. However, the desired changes cannot be registered if the children do not have the necessary accommodations and resources to help them adapt to the new environments. Jane highlights that it takes the efforts of teachers, parents, specialists, and caregivers to help the children adapt to new routines (2020).
Susan (2005) confirms Jane’s sentiments by stating that adults and children with autism are rigid to change; they tend to stick to routines and can be resistant to new activities and unpredictable routines of not equipped with the necessary resources and accommodations. They relish conversing with familiar people, doing activities in their everyday routines at the prescribed time, in a predictable environment; this explains their rigidity and frustrations when new activities are added to their daily or everyday routines. According to the author, one needs to understand the complexities of the children that make it difficult for the children to embrace change. For instance, a child with communication difficulties may struggle to relate with the people around them. They may appear unresponsive and oblivious to other people’s feelings as they try to make sense of the changes around them. Hence, it is upon the institutions to introduce specialists to help the children and provide accommodations such as earplugs to enable their transition in a rowdy environment. However, the author points out that this is not usually the case as these institutions lack funds to hire specialists and acquire accommodative equipment.
Martin (2004), on the other hand, acknowledges that autistic children have difficulty managing and coping with change and advises institutions to provide the children with necessary equipment and support. This includes laying down the new routines and activities, the new time they will take place, and the expected outcomes. According to the author, it is advisable to include the anticipated activity change in the child’s everyday routines to adapt to the new routine. The author further suggests that before introducing any element of change, the parents or instructors must inform the children, explain what the new routine entails, why it is necessary, analyze the anticipated change in routines, and hint at the expected outcomes. The author argues that this will motivate the child to participate in the new activities, and their level of frustration may reduce upon introducing new routines. He further states that having specialists such as child psychologists can help the child embrace the new environment and reduce their resistance to change.
In addition to this, Lynn, and Patricia (2010) believe that having activity schedules increases the student’s chance to adapt to new routines by increasing their engagement with their peers, adaptation to new environments, and identifying flexible ways of performing tasks. Having schedules allows the children to apply what they have learned to handle new situations that may present themselves, having them ready and prepared for anything. They, therefore, encourage institutions to have outlines of every activity that the autistic children will engage in the new environment displayed in a central place to help them be acquainted with the new routines.
Haytham (2017) also understands the importance of schedules to autistic children. The author understands that autistic children are resistant to change and believes that having schedules can help avert the adverse effects of rigidity when exposing the child to new routines. Haytham believes that when parents tell the children what is expected, they may hasten the activity to move to the next one. The parents and caregivers should try as much as possible to stick to the schedules and ensure the child participates in the new activities until they are conversant with the new environment.
Research Methods
The research method used in this paper is a four-step meta-synthesis model that involves defining the research’s scope, identifying the relevant literature sources, extracting the relevant materials from the identified relevant literature sources, and synthesizing the materials to address the identified problem in the text.
· It is defining the scope of the research scope of this paper to validate autistic children’s inability to cope with change due to lack of resources in institutions. This is one of the identified areas for growth for the American Boys and Girls Club.
· Identification of the relevant literature sources -The next step of the meta-synthesis model is identifying the literature relevant to the problem described in the scope of the research. This was a two-phased process. The first step entails conducting database searches on the changing routines for autistic children, analyzing cited sources relevant to the scope of the research, and analyzing the articles included in systematic reviews. The second phase involved screening the identified articles to assess whether they contained the information on changing routines for autistic children and what causes their resistance to change.
· Extracting relevant information -The identified articles underwent scrutiny; articles that only included the types of accommodations that autistic children may be subjected to were left in the analysis section, and only ones that contained detailed information on the necessary resources for autistic children were included in the meta-synthesis
· Synthesis of the relevant materials -The final part of the research model included a synthesis of the identified relevant materials to address and validate the scope of the problem.
Pertinent Models, Frameworks, or Theories
The theories identified in this research include the mind blindness theory and the empathizing-systemizing theory. Mind blindness theory states that autistic children have delayed development of the theory of mind that prevents them from understanding what goes on in the surrounding environment. Having an underdeveloped theory of mind slows down the adaptations to the new environment, explaining the frustrations experienced by autistic children when exposed to new routines. On the other hand, the empathizing systemizing theory explains communication and cognitive difficulties depicted by autistic children who find it difficult to show empathy. Therefore, they may find it difficult to relate with other children in the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and instead opt-out as they struggle to put themselves in other students’ shoes and find ways of relating with them.
Summary of Findings
The literature review above reveals that autistic children have difficulty adapting to transitions or changes to their daily routines. This is attributed to their preference for the same routines and difficulty keeping up with simple routines such as weekdays to weekends. This becomes a challenge, especially when the institutions that offer programs for autistic children lack the necessary resources to help them cope with change. The findings of this literature review reveal the importance of informing and explaining to autistic children the purpose of the transition process and supporting them until they get the hang of things. In addition, it is essential to have specialists who give the children emotional support to help autistic children deal with any difficulties they may face within the institutions. This resistance to change is supported by the theories of mind blindness and emphasizing systematic theory that bases the resistance to change on the underdevelopment of the theory of mind that slows down their perception and adaptation to the new environment. The outcomes of this literature review reveal that the challenges faced by autistic children in the institutions can be minimized by introducing accommodations that enhance the children’s participation in activities that help them adapt to new environments. In addition, the institutions need to issue accommodations to help the children relate with the other children.
Statement of the Problem
This paper highlights the lack of resources such as specialists and necessary accommodations to deal with the case of members – autistic children – resistance to change in the Boys & Girls Club of America.
Description of the Context of the Problem
Autistic children often feel anxious when exposed to a new routine or a new activity especially, in a new environment such as the Boys and Girls Club of America. They become stressed and overwhelmed in a new environment and may continue for a while if an organization does not have enough resources or specialists to help them cope with change. This paper highlights the problem faced by autistic children in institutions due to the lack of resources and necessary accommodations to help them cope with change and the necessary solutions.
The necessary accommodations that help autistic children cope with change include special sitting accommodations such as limited distraction, i.e., type of lighting, flooring, decorations, etc., scheduling necessary breaks to enhance the child’s self-regulation; language accommodations such as allowing verbal discussions, checking for understanding, no sarcasm, and allowing ample time for comprehension and processing; behavior accommodations such as creating a plan for typically ‘unstructured times,’ positive reinforcements, creating a de-escalation plan; executive functioning accommodations for autism such as graphical organizers and keeping to the schedule (Sarrett, 2018).
Understanding how specific resources and accommodations affects autistic children’s resistance to change will help the organizations identify the resources in which they need to invest. This paper analyses literature sources to identify the resources available to organizations to implement activities that help autistic children cope with change.
Scope and Significance of the Problem
This paper highlights the challenge of the lack of resources in organizations to help autistic children cope with change. Its objective is to identify the solution that organizations can use to reduce the resistance to change by autistic children. The significance of this research is to change autistic’s children perception about new environments, enabling their smooth transition into new environments, routines, and activities.
Rationale for Investigating the Problem
The rationale for investigating this problem is to reduce autistic children’s resistance to change by highlighting the necessary accommodations and resources that can enable them to cope with new routines, activities, and environments. Failure to investigate this problem will result in a negative perception of autistic children being resistant to change. Hence, most institutions and individuals will develop a stereotypical attitude towards them and not help them cope with new environments, activities, or routines.
Well-Defined Problem Statement
The lack of resources in organizations to help autistic children cope with change is a significant challenge today. Autistic children, therefore, struggle to keep up with the other students and fail to engage in activities that could help in their cognitive development process due to a lack of necessary accommodations. This limits their development process and could take a toll on their social life and physical and mental health. Research shows that autistic children are often resistant to routine, environment, or activities, especially without necessary accommodations and specialists. Therefore, institutions should incorporate accommodations such as hearing aids or wheelchairs to enable autistic children to participate in activities that enhance their cognitive functions. In addition, the institutions should seek the services of specialists such as child psychologists to help the children cope with the new environments.
Part 3: Research Possible Solutions
Introduction
A new habit or activity may create anxiety or dread in autistic children, especially in a unique setting. Fear and overwhelm are common emotions to starting a new job, and they may last for a long time if the organization does not provide the tools or skills to assist individuals. This article focuses on the problems that autistic children encounter in institutions due to a lack of resources and necessary accommodations, and possible solutions. This information may help organizations decide which resources to invest in to support autistic children. This research aims to conduct a literature review and examine the choices accessible to organizations to assist autistic children with the transition.
This research demonstrates the challenges organizations face while aiding autistic children in dealing with change. Its goal is to assist organizations in reducing autistic children’s reluctance to change. It is still in its early stages. This research is essential because it may assist autistic children in adjusting to new situations, routines, and activities. This research aims to help autistic children adapt to new ways, activities, places, and social settings. If this problem is not addressed, autistic children may seem to be resistant to change (Michalik & Vozenilek, 2015). As a result, most organizations and individuals will not assist them in adapting to new environments, activities, or habits.
Today, the scarcity of resources accessible to organizations working with autistic children is a significant concern. Consequently, autistic youngsters struggle to stay up with their classmates and avoid activities that help them grow cognitively. This stunts their growth, development, and social, physical, and mental health. According to research, autistic children resist routines, settings, and activities; primarily, when necessary, accommodations and information are not provided (“Making Every Contact Count: The Potential Role of Healthy Living Pharmacies in Weight Management,” 2017). To enable autistic children to participate in cognitive activities, institutions should provide modifications such as hearing aids or wheelchairs. Aside from that, institutions should hire specialists such as child psychologists to assist children in adjusting to their new surroundings.
Possible Solutions
Possible Solution One: Hiring more specialist
Behaviorists and child psychologists can aid the youngster in realizing the significance of the new pattern or activity. They may assist children in acclimatizing to a unique circumstance and help them engage with other kids. According to research, people and children with autism are resistant to change, new activities, and unexpected routines when not supplied with the needed tools and accommodations (Graham et al., 2015). Their rigidity and annoyance when new activities are added to their daily or everyday routines are related to their delight in conversing with known individuals and undertaking normal activities at the predetermined time and location.
According to the author, adapting to change is challenging for adolescents due to their complexity. For example, a child with communication challenges may struggle to connect to others. As they work to make sense of the changes around them, they may seem disinterested and uncaring (Monz et al., 2019). Thus, institutions must supply specialists to aid kids and accommodations such as earplugs to help them acclimate to a loud setting. However, as the author points out, this is not always the case owing to a lack of resources to engage specialists and acquire adaptable equipment.
Possible Solution Two: Spending More Time with the Child before Initiating a Change in Routine
Parents may also assist autistic children in adjusting to change. It is critical to prepare autistic children for the upcoming changes in routine. Most scholars feel that a lack of finance is a serious threat to America’s Boys and Girls Clubs. (Ion, 2011) demonstrate how families with autistic children worry about planning vacations, Christmas, and new activities. This irritates parents who try to do right by their children but do more harm than good.
These families must see their children struggle to transition from weekdays to weekends. Autistic children work with change; even minor changes generate anxiety and frustration. These problems and concerns are usually judged desirable, especially if the efforts are expected to be successful (Mountstephen, 2011). However, the expected improvements cannot be documented unless the children have the necessary accommodations and resources. According to Jane, assisting children in adjusting to new behaviors involves a collaborative effort.
Possible Solution Three: Using Required Accommodations Such as Timers to Assist Youngsters in Participating in New Activities
For example, suppose the child’s schedule comprises indoor activities, and the parents wish to add outdoor activities at a facility. In that case, they may set timers to mark the finish of their favorite activities and the start of new ones, like the boys and girls club. In addition, autistic children’s brains are wired differently and are easily distracted. Institutions could examine supplying earplugs to aid pupils’ focus and reduce noise.
(Forrest et al., 2019) agrees that autistic youngsters struggle with change and urges institutions to supply appropriate equipment and help. This encompasses new habits and activities, new times, and expected outcomes. The author proposes adding the recent activity into the child’s routine to help them acclimate. A new schedule should be described to youngsters, along with the reasons why it is essential. The author advises that parents or instructors should explain the new routine to their children before introducing it. The author argues that this will encourage the toddler to participate in new activities and minimize annoyance when new habits are introduced (Percival, 2014). He adds that specialists like child psychologists can aid a kid in acclimating to new surroundings and reduce their aversion.
Possible Solution Four: Encourage Gradual Transitioning
Institutional parents and caregivers can assist these children by moving slowly and focusing on one activity at a time. Support them until they become accustomed to the new activity, and then introduce approaches that are more complex once they are. This should be done until the child can participate in the latest activities on its own.
Crane, et all (2021) believe that activity schedules assist students in adjusting to new routines by increasing peer engagement, adapting to new environments, and identifying flexible tasks. Programs enable children to apply what they have learned in new situations, preparing them for anything. They recommend that institutions post outlines of all activities that autistic children will participate in to help them adjust to their new routines.
Crane recognizes the importance of routines for autistic children (Baker, 2012). The author believes that having schedules can help avoid the adverse effects of rigidity when introducing new practices. Dodd believes that if parents tell their children what to expect, the activity will be rushed. Therefore, they may find it difficult to relate with other children in the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and instead opt-out as they struggle to put themselves in other students’ shoes and find ways of relating with them. Parents and caregivers should stick to the schedules until the child is comfortable in the new environment.
Overview of Solutions (Conclusion)
In conclusion, it is easy to understand why autistic children dislike change because they prefer to stick to a routine. Students who are exposed to new habits are more likely to avoid such activities. Boys and Girls Clubs of America after-school programs assist children of all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations to reach their full potential and develop leadership skills. Unenrolled students may miss significant opportunities that could help them achieve important life milestones. This resistance to change is sometimes caused by a lack of resources or accommodations in after-school Boys & Girls Clubs in the United States (Ali Dardas, 2014). Transition professionals can also assist them with their transition.
This study discovered that autistic youngsters struggle to respond to changes in their daily routines. Professionals believe this is because they like the same practices and have difficulty distinguishing between weekdays and weekends. This is a problem when the institutions that provide programs for autistic children do not have the resources to help them transition. Educate and explain the purpose of the transition process to autistic children, and then assist them until they get into the swing of things (Sham & Smith, 2014). Emotional support experts are also crucial in helping autistic children deal with obstacles when living in institutions.
These ideas attribute resistance to change to a lack of theory of mind development, which results in a considerable lag in awareness and adaption to the new environment. According to the findings of this study, enabling autistic children to engage in activities that help them adjust to new environments and attain greater autonomy may help reduce the hurdles they face in institutions. Schools must also make modifications to help pupils connect with their classmates.
Part 4: Select a Solution
Overview of Four Potential Solutions
In autistic children, familiarity fosters anxiety. A new job usually causes stress. Employees may be unable to be supported by the company. Autism is a common ailment in institutions. This information might help a charity fund autistic child. This research focuses on how to help autistic children adjust. In it, groups assist autistic children in adjusting to change. Autism affects children’s anxiety in new circumstances. A child. Continue to look for strategies to help autistic children adjust to new situations, routines, and activities. Assist autistic youngsters in adapting to new environments. Unresolved concerns may stymie change (Ali Dardas, 2014). As a result, most individuals and organizations will not assist them in changing their locations, hobbies, or habits.
Currently, financial challenges for autistic children’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are considerable. Children and adolescents with autism have lower cognitive demands than their peers do. This act harms their social, physical, and emotional well-being. According to 2017 research, autistic children lack flexibility and capability. Institutions should supply Autistic youngsters taking cognitive exams with hearing aids or wheelchairs. Institutions should hire child psychologists to help youngsters acclimate.
Solution One: Hiring more specialist
Child psychologists and behavior specialists can assist the child in seeing the usefulness of the new habit or activity. They may assist children in acclimating to new situations and socializing with other children. Numerous studies have shown that when autistic persons and children do not have the necessary skills and accommodations, they develop resistance to change. They get angry and stiff when new activities are introduced into their daily or everyday routines.
Pros and Cons
Teenage resistance help change stems from their inherent complexity. A youngster who fails to communicate with others may find it difficult to form connections. They may seem bored and uninterested to others as they strive to grasp the changes that are going place (Ali Dardas, 2014). As a result, schools must provide experts and accommodations such as earplugs to assist students in adjusting to a noisy environment. On the other hand, there might be limited support staff. As the author points out, this is not always the case due to a lack of finances for professionals and equipment.
Solution Two: Spending more time with the child before initiating a change in routine
Parents may also help their autistic children acclimate to new situations. It is vital to prepare autistic youngsters for changes in routine. Scholars generally agree that the Boys and Girls Clubs of America are in dire financial straits. A 2011 study found that families with autistic children are concerned about vacations, Christmas, and new activities. Many parents are dissatisfied because they want to do the right thing for their children but do more damage than good.
Pros and Cons
Even little changes may trigger dread and rage in autistic children, and minor changes might inspire anger and anxiety. Many of these families are forced to see their children struggle to shift from workday to weekend activities. These difficulties and worries are often seen favorably, particularly if the efforts are predicted to yield fruit and be advantageous in the long run (Baker, 2012). However, if the appropriate adaptations and resources are not implemented, the children will struggle to match the expected growth rates and eventually fail. As Jane points out, aiding children in shifting to new behaviors requires a joint effort on the part of all parties involved.
Solution Three: Using required accommodations such as timers to assist youngsters in participating in new activities
Consider this scenario: the child’s schedule is now completely made up of indoor activities, and the parents wish to incorporate outdoor activities at a facility. In this example, children may use timers to signal the end of their favorite activities and the beginning of new ones, such as the boys and girls club. Aside from that, autistic children’s brains are wired differently, making them more susceptible to distraction. Institutions may want to consider providing students with earplugs to help them concentrate while also reducing noise.
Pros and Cons
It allows for the development of practical abilities. Crane et al. (2014) believe that transition is challenging for autistic children and advice institutions to provide suitable equipment and assistance. This transition includes new habits and behaviors, as well as anticipated new timeframes and consequences. To help promote acclimatization, the author recommends incorporating the child’s most recent activity into their daily routine. Psychologists should inform Children under the age of six about the new schedule and why it is necessary. The author suggests that parents or instructors explain the new routine to their children before introducing a new habit to them. According to the author, this will inspire the youngster to attempt new activities while also relieving the discomfort involved with teaching the child new behaviors (Baker, 2012). Furthermore, child psychologists can help children acclimatize to new settings and reduce their fear of strange items.
Solution Four: Encourage gradual transitioning
Slowing down and concentrating on one job at a time may help institutionalized parents and caregivers provide better care for these children. After assisting them in adjusting to the new activity, may present more advanced ways after establishing a habit. If the youngster cannot engage in new activities on his or her own, no one should do this. Crane et al. (2021) think that activity plans help students adjust to new routines by increasing peer interaction, adapting to changing circumstances, and identifying responsibilities that may change quickly. Programs allow students to apply what they have learned in various circumstances, preparing them for whatever comes their way in the future. To help autistic children adjust to their new routines, the authors advise institutions to provide full explanations of all activities in which they will engage.
Pros and Cons
The safety and well-being of autistic children are prioritized. It helps to understand the importance of routines for autistic children. It is vital to understand what they are (Baker, 2012). The author believes that defining deadlines while implementing new processes may assist reduce the negative implications of rigidity. According to Dodd, if parents inform their children about the upcoming event, they will be forced to join.
On the other hand, many interruptions may occur throughout the normal course of business. As a result, they may find it difficult to connect with other children at Boys and Girls Clubs of America and may withdraw from the program as they try to put themselves in other children’s shoes and find methods to interact with them instead. Parents and caregivers should keep to the set routines until the youngster feels comfortable in their new surroundings.
Discussion of Barriers
Solution One: Hiring more specialist
Numerous studies have demonstrated that autistic persons and children develop an aversion to novel situations when they lack the necessary skills and adjustments. When new activities are introduced into their daily or weekly routines, they suffer anxiety and a sense of being suffocated. Children’s psychologists and behavior specialists can assist the child in recognizing the advantages of a new habit or activity that has been introduced to him or her. Their support in acclimating children to unfamiliar surroundings and developing sociability with other children may be beneficial.
Barrier
Because of their intrinsic complexity, teenagers, according to the author, have a tough time adjusting to change. A youngster who struggles to communicate with others, for example, may struggle to develop connections with others. As they try to make sense of the changes going on around them, they may look bored and uncaring to people around them (Monz et al., 2019). Consequently, institutions must offer professionals to assist youngsters, as well as accommodations such as earplugs to help them acclimate to being in a loud environment. This is not always the case, as the author points out, owing to a lack of financial means to engage professionals and obtain suitable equipment.
Solution Two: Spending more time with the child before initiating a change in routine
Parents may also help their autistic children adjust to new situations. It is vital to prepare autistic children for changes in their routines. According to most academics and experts, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America are in dire financial straits. According to a 2011 study, parents of autistic children indicated fear about vacations, Christmas, and new activities. Many parents are dissatisfied with their children because they want to do what is best for them but end up doing more damage than good.
Barrier
Families must watch their children struggle to shift from working to weekend activities. These problems and concerns are often seen positively; especially when it is thought that the efforts will bear fruit and be beneficial in the long term (Baker, 2012). Children, on the other hand, will struggle to sustain predicted growth rates and will ultimately fail, if necessary, reforms and resources are not introduced. As Jane points out, aiding children in adopting new habits requires a collaborative effort by all parties concerned.
Solution Three: Using required accommodations such as timers to assist youngsters in participating in new activities
The children’s routine has become entirely comprised of indoor activities, and the parents are seeking a facility that will offer outside activities for their children. For example, in this illustration, youngsters may use timers to signify the conclusion of their favorite activities and the start of new ones, such as the boys and girls club. Furthermore, autistic children’s brains are wired differently than regularly developing children’s brains, making them more susceptible to distraction than typically developing children. It might be beneficial for universities and colleges to explore supplying students with earplugs to boost their concentration while also lowering background noise.
Barrier
Autistic children have challenges throughout the transition period and depend on institutions for suitable equipment and assistance. This includes new habits and behaviors, as well as anticipated new timeframes and consequences. To help promote acclimatization, the author recommends incorporating the child’s most recent activity into their daily routine. Children under the age of six should be informed about the new schedule and why it is necessary. The author suggests that before introducing a new habit to their children, parents or instructors explain the new routine to them. According to the author, this will inspire the youngster to attempt new activities while also relieving the discomfort involved with teaching the child new behaviors (Percival, 2014). Furthermore, professionals such as child psychologists can help children acclimatize to new settings and reduce their fear of strange items.
Solution Four: Encourage gradual transitioning
Institutionalized parents and caregivers may be able to offer better care for their children in institutions by slowing down and focusing on a single action at a time. It may be necessary to offer more advanced tactics once they have established a routine while supporting them in developing a routine. Nobody should take part in this activity if the youngster is unable to engage in new activities on his or her own. According to Crane et al. (2021), activity plans help students adjust to new routines by improving peer contacts, adapting to changing settings, and explaining often-altering duties. Students are exposed to a variety of circumstances in which they may apply what they have learned, better preparing them for whatever comes their way in the future. To help autistic children adjust to their new routines, the authors recommend that institutions offer full explanations of all activities in which they will participate.
Barrier
During a regular workday, there may be several interruptions. As a result, they may struggle to connect with other children at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and they may retreat from the program as they try to put themselves in the shoes of other children and find other ways of communicating with them. To assist the kid in adjusting to his or her new surroundings, parents and caregivers should maintain as much consistency as possible in the child’s routines.
Conclusion
Finally, autistic children reject change because they desire to follow the rules. Students who are exposed to novel behaviours are less likely to participate in them. Boys & Girls Clubs of America after-school programs may assist children from various socioeconomic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. Students who do not attend classes may miss important possibilities that might help them accomplish life milestones. A lack of resources or accommodations for children exacerbates this opposition to change at many after-school Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the country (Ali Dardas, 2014). Transition experts may also be able to assist them.
According to the findings of this research, autistic children have difficulty adjusting to changes in their daily routines. Professionals say this is because they engage in the same activities daily and cannot tell the difference between weekdays and weekends. It is a concern that autistic children’s programs do not have the resources to assist their transition. They should state the transition process’s purpose to autistic children, and we should assist them until they acclimatize to their new environment (Ali Dardas, 2014). Emotional support professionals may also assist autistic children in coping with the difficulties of institutional life.
Therefore, the most appropriate solution that encompasses the challenges faced by the autistic children is the introduction of appropriate accommodation that best suits the student’s needs and helps them to participate in new activities comfortably .With suitable accommodations, it will be easier for the experts to help them acclimatize to the new environments and ease their interaction with the other students when participating in the new activities.
Part 5: Strategies to Accomplish the Selected Solution
The chosen solution is the use of the required accommodations such as timers to help autistic children participate in new activities to manage change. As mentioned before, autistic children frequently show violent behaviors when exposed new routines due to their preference for schedules or routines. The critical analysis and literature review revealed that the resistance to change was due to a lack of resources and accommodations to help the children manage change. Among the proposed results was using the needed accommodations to help the youths participate in new activities. This section focuses on the strategies to be used for the effective perpetuation of the use of accommodations to help autistic children cope with change in their daily routines.
Strategy One: Communicating with the parents
A cooperative approach between parents and teachers is essential in introducing and enforcing accommodations that help autistic students adapt to change in their daily routines (Rita et, al, 2019). The parents can communicate with the teachers on the student’s progress with the introduced accommodation, enabling the schoolteacher to determine whether to introduce new intervention to goad the pupil’s adaption to new routines.
Synthesis of the literature related to the strategy
Jenifer, Hailey, and Jody (2019) identified a positive relationship between parents’ involvement in the decision making process for determining appropriate accommodations for the students and positive issues for similar interventions. According to the authors, the parents had a favorable view of being involved in important milestones for their children, like introducing an accommodation to help their children cope with change (Jenifer, et, al, 2019). They still expressed certain dissatisfactions claiming that the teachers failed to implement the opinions made unanimously regarding the accommodations appropriate for the students. Autistic children generally attend both the special and general education classes, hence the need for the parents to have a good relationship with both.
According to Gazi, Courtney, and David (2018), most parents of autistic children verified their dissatisfaction with their position of involvement in choosing accommodations that best suits their children. They also claimed that the lack of guidance from the teachers shuttered their desire to incorporate certain accommodations to enhance their children’s participation in new activities different from their routines. Despite this, the authors agreed that communication was crucial in enforcing accommodations for autistic children and helping them achieve the desired results (David et, al, 2018). Indeed, though teachers are responsible for 70% of the decisions regarding the students policies bear them to be accountable to the parents by engaging them in the decision-making process especially if it entails important aspects similar as social bias. Of significance was the use of communication technologies agreed upon by both parties. In their composition, Cecile, Katalyn, Isabeu, and Amestoy (2021) cover some technological tools that can help parents and preceptors overcome communication walls.
The tool was Crypto heaven, with users registering positive feedbacks on how the technology has enhanced their discussion on their views on the accommodation that best suits the child’s requirements performing in the asked issues. Roberts and Simpson (2016) take a different perspective on the educator’s role when deciding on the most suitable accommodations for the scholars. The authors suggested that the teachers involve both the stakeholders and the parents in the decision-making process, the stakeholders to help with the planning process and the perpetration process, and the parents to suggest recommendations on the most appropriate accommodations (Roberts & Simpson, 2016).
Strategy Two; Using Visual aids
Autistic children tend to resist change, especially when they do not have access to the needed lodgment to grease the transitions to new activities. Using illustrations such as social stories, video modeling, and schedules is vital in enhancing a smooth transition into the new activities.
Synthesis of Literature Related to the Strategy
Chui Ling (2020) identified the part that visual aids played in helping autistic children acclimatize to new surroundings. The author says that visual aids help autistic children manage negative actions such as high anxiety situations, tone- injuries, and violence towards other people. The visual aids are more comprehendible, permanent and the children can make frequent references to them, easing their transition into the new activities. In addition, visual aids are vital in helping the children deal with negative behaviors and attain essential skills that enhance their conformity to new environments (Jaime &McDonnell, 2015). The author’s rationale is that autistic children are more acquainted with visual representations and may find it difficult to depend on auditory representations to change into new environments. Some of the visual aids include video modeling, social stories.
Social stories are one of the practical tools in enhancing autistic children’s social skills to enable them to adapt to new activities and environments. Alexander & Huber (2020) identified the effectiveness of social stories in enhancing the social skills of autistic children. They identified three approaches to presenting the stories: digital media, the student actively engaging in the process, and parental involvement. The teachers can narrate the story of an individual or child who successfully engaged in the new activity, motivating those resistant to change. The other visual aid is video modeling, which, according to Jenifer (2015), entails recording a target skill in a targeted environment and presenting them to the student. This helps the student determine what is expected of them, how to use the identified accommodation and the steps to achieve the desired results. The other visual aid is the daily schedules that effectively reduce anxiety in autistic children. According to Jennifer (2017), schedules prepare the children to transition into the next activity and the time spent. Depending on the severity of the child’s condition, the author suggests that the teachers attach visuals such as tactile objects to the schedules. In addition, they can prepare portable schedules where the students can constantly refer to and help reduce any anxiety that they could experience (Haytham, 2017).
Summary
Critical analysis revealed that the anxiety levels that autistic children experience when subjected to new environments are due to the lack of resources that enhance their transition process. However, to ensure effective implementation of the proposed strategy, there should be incorporating tools such as visual aids and a collaboration between the parents, teachers, and stakeholders in identifying the most critical intervention strategies and accommodations for the student.
Part 6: Evaluation of the Strategies
Quantitative Strategic Plan Matrix
A quantitative strategic plan matrix (Qspm) is an organizational tool used to evaluate strategic options to determine their relative attractiveness. It aims to prioritize the most feasible option by engaging in continuous research, critically evaluating the internal and external environments, comparing the pros and cons of the proposed alternatives, and then identifying the best course of action. Qspm is six stepped processes that begin with a SWOT analysis of the internal and external factors derived from the previously prepared IFE and EFE Matrix; Next is assigning weights to the internal and external factors, also identical to the existing IFE and EFE matrix (Mohammed, et, al,2021). Afterward, one should identify the strategies, allocate the attractiveness score and compute the total attractiveness score by multiplying the assigned weights with the attractiveness score. The final step is computing the sum attractiveness score to determine the most attractive and feasible strategy.
Conducting a quantitative is a critical component of the decision-making process in every organization that entails finding a solution to a problem. It aids the organization in identifying the most feasible solution from the given set of alternatives by considering the internal and external factors that affect the strategy (Mohammed et al., 2021). In addition, it can be used in any business or corporate setting when making essential or critical decisions. It is important to note is that organizations do not always have to opt for this tool. However, it may come in handy when the impending decision is critical and not based on instincts. Qspm provides scores that boost the decision maker’s confidence in their choice of the strategy and eliminates any skepticism concerning the foregone alternative. For this to work, the stakeholders need to put in place conflict management strategies, as these are inevitable due to differences in preferences and interpretation of information. In addition, they should make small but subjective and unanimous decisions to increase the chances of choosing the most suitable and feasible strategy.
Evaluation of Internal Factors
Internal factors evaluation matrix
|
Communicating with parents |
Using Visual Aids |
|||||||||||||
|
AS |
TAS |
|||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 1.0 | ||||||||||||||
|
0.60 |
||||||||||||||
|
Diverse member needs make it difficult for available specialists to deal with |
||||||||||||||
|
5.39 |
2.93 |
Discussion of Factors that Influence the Plan
Some of the factors that influence the plan include offering hands on skills to the children. The role of the Boys and Girls Club of America is to help autistic children cope with change by offering them hands-on skills development opportunities to become self-efficient when participating in new activities. For this to be effective, it is essential to continuously contact the parents to help determine the best opportunities for developing their skills and incorporate visual aids that best suit their needs.
The other factor is the Provision of sporting activities that improve physical health. Sporting activities are an essential component that boosts autistic children’s physical health. The educators need to involve the parents when determining the sporting activities that the child will engage in. This is to determine the activities that the children are conversant with and help in incorporating visual aids such as video modelling to aid their participation in physical activities. Video modelling entails the educator showing the child a recording of an individual participating in the targeted sporting activity. The educator may also stress the positive impact of the student’s participation in the new activity on their health.
Third is enhanced participation in physical activities. When subjecting an autistic child to new physical activities, it is vital to engage their parent in every step of the planning process, to be familiar with the child’s schedules, and aid in the incorporation of visual aids such as portable schedules that eased the transition process into the new activities.
Fourth is provision of professional and educational development. The Boys and Girls of America often engage specialists to provide additional support to the children to help them cope with change. In addition, they usually incorporate accommodations such as visual aids to spur their academic development. It is only prudent to inform the parents and engage them in the decision-making process before implementing the strategies mentioned above.
Fifth is the issue of time management. Time management when transitioning into new activities is an imminent threat to the success of the Boys and Girls club in helping the children cope with change. The use of visual aids such as timers is the most effective way of helping the children be more time conscious. Educators can also engage the parents, giving them strategies to help the children be more time conscious while at home.
Next is dealing with the sensitive members Clubs such as Boys and Girls Club of America are prone to tantrums from sensitive members when subjected to new activities. The most appropriate intervention is engaging their parents or caregivers who may be better positioned to help the children cope with change; also, visual aids such as social stories of children who successfully transitioned into the targeted activity may come in handy.
The other factor is attending to diverse members’ needs. The best solution to meeting the diverse needs of the members is the use of visual aids such as social stories and video modelling that best suits their needs. Also, it is essential to engage the parents who are more acquainted with what is best for their children.
Evaluation of External Factor Evaluation
External Factor Evaluation table
|
Using visual aids |
||
| AS | ||
|
0.20 |
||
|
Weight |
||
|
2.05 |
1.72 |
|
|
Total attractiveness score |
7.44 |
Discussion of Factors that Influence the Plan
Some of the factors that influence the plan is putting up additional programs to affect more lives. This would be more effective with the help of parents and the use of necessary accommodations such as the use of visual aids to help the children transition into the new programs additionally, the Boys and Club of America can work with Different specialists. Before engaging any specialist to help an autistic child deal with change, it is essential first to identify the visual aids that will ease the specialist’s work and to engage the parents or caregivers in deciding the most suitable accommodation and specialist
The other opportunity available to the Boys and Girls Club of America is improving their health by engaging them in physical activities. Due to their inevitable resistance to participation in new activities, the use of visual aids such as social stories depicting how a child of similar age successfully engaged in the new activities comes in handy. In addition, communicating with the parents on the proposed activities increases their success rates.
The primary threat to the club’s success is the children’s resistance to a change in their routines when prompted to participate in new activities. Visual aids play an essential role in easing the children’s transition process, and with the help of the members, they may be able to acquaint themselves with the devices, reducing their resistance to change when subjected to new activities
A Lack of faith by the parents in the organization to transform their children’s lives is the other challenge facing the Boys and Girls Club of America. To overcome this, the educators need to engage the parents, encourage them to have faith in them, and recommend the visual aids they think would enhance the children’s participation in the club’s activities.
First Alternative Attractiveness Score and Benefit for the Organization
The highest total attractiveness score strategy is communicating with parents regarding the best accommodations that best suit the students’ needs. Autistic children tend to be resistant to change due to a lack of accommodations that ease their transition (Fred & Lisa, 2017). Collaboration between teachers and the parents is undoubtedly effective in enhancing the student’s transition into new activities. One of the challenges the Boys and Girls club faced was resistance to change and a lack of faith by the autistic children in the organization.
According to Joan et al. (2018), parents directly link school and home. They play the therapist role and should be engaged in continuous training to help them to understand their children’s needs. With this knowledge, it would be easier for the educators and the specialists to determine an accommodation that best suits the student’s needs. For instance, the Boys and Girls Club educators would not distinguish between a child who only sticks to one routine and takes part in different activities. Only the parents can provide such information. This eases the planning process for the organization when determining the students that will be issued with timers to help them become more time conscious.
Stakeholders are interested in implementing programs to help autistic children progress. They need information on what works for the children and the areas that need improvement (Elizabeth & Clarice, 2018). Since teachers act as a bridge between the stakeholders and the teachers, they are tasked with instituting effective communication strategies. Through this, the educators attain essential information such as the extent of success of the implemented programs to enable the autistic children to cope with change while at school and home. It eases their decision-making process when determining the programs that should be improved and those that need replacements. In addition, they can take up the parent’s recommendations on the accommodations that best suit the student’s needs and provide funds for their acquisition on their issuance to the students.
One of the challenges faced by the Boys and Girls Club of America is that they are susceptible to neighborhood violence and conflict with the authorities due to loud and chaotic environments. Through effective communication with the parents, the teachers can train the parents on helping the community understand autistic children’s behavior. In addition, the parents can intervene for their children to the authorities, explaining to them why they may sometimes exhibit violent behaviors when interacting with the community and how to help them control such behaviors.
Second Alternative Attractiveness Score and Benefit for the Organization
The second strategy uses visual aids such as social stories and video modeling to enhance students’ transition process into new activities. Even though the first strategy of communicating with parents had a higher total attractiveness score, making it the most feasible strategy, the second strategy of visual aids is of equal importance when introducing accommodative devices to autistic children who struggle with change. Visual aids enable autistic children to understand better their surrounding environment (Rahul et al., 2019). Visual aids increase their social awareness and enhances their social skills, essential as they participate in group activities. This eases the educator’s work in helping the children, as most of the work, such as time-conscious, is done by visual aids such as digital timers. In addition, it reduces disorganization and frequent interruptions within the organization with the help of visual aids such as video modeling that depicts the correct behavior expected of the children within the facility.
Summary of Most Important Strategy
Sarah et al. (2019) stressed the importance of effective communication between parents and teachers when introducing new accommodations to the students. They stated that even though they are essential, accommodations can only be adequate if there is an exchange of information between the parents and teachers. Parent involvement in the transition process enables the teachers to only focus on teaching, which results in desired outcomes. In addition, the educators can better understand the children’s home environment and their needs, incorporating the accommodations that best suit them.
Part 7: Development of an Action Plan
Introduction
Boys and Clubs of America have been helping autistic children and other youngsters better their lives by offering after-school activities. However, they has been facing challenges such as struggling to attend to the diverse member’s needs, lack of trust by members, exposure of students to socio phobic members, and the children being resistant to change. The unprecedented challenge was the children being resistant to change when exposed to new activities and routines. A critical analysis and synthesis of the literature revealed that the resistance to change was due to a lack of resources to help the children cope with change. It was identified that autistic children could embrace the transition to change if accommodations such as visual aids, timers, and earplugs aided the process.
To realize this, the instructors must engage the parents in the planning process and introduce accommodative tools that best suit the student’s needs. This can be achieved through effective communication between the two parties. This action plan outlines the steps to implement the communication strategy between the parents and teachers, the timeline, the resources needed, and the personnel involved.
Summary Table
|
Goals |
Resources needed |
Desired Outcome |
Date to begin |
Date to end |
Status |
Personnel |
|||
|
Developing a reliable communication channel |
ClassDojo and Remind |
Tracking of students’ behavior to decide the best accommodations that suit them |
August 8, 2021 |
August 15,2021 |
Priority |
Education technology entrepreneur |
|||
|
Event-based engagement |
Program presentations |
Enhanced collaboration to improve student outcomes |
November 30,2021 |
December 12,2021 |
Priority |
Instructor |
|||
|
Conference |
Preconference questionnaires |
Creation of a plan for the future |
January 1,2022 |
January 6,2022 |
Title 1 facilitator |
||||
|
Volunteer activities |
Accommodations that address the student’s needs |
Help the students to achieve their goals and reduce the instructor’s workload |
March 1,2022 |
March 16, 2022 |
Volunteer leader |
||||
|
Anonymous survey |
SoGoSurvey tools |
Gather opinions and levels of parents’ satisfaction with implementing the strategy. |
May 5, 2022 |
May 10, 2022 |
IT Specialists |
Action steps
The first action step is the development of a reliable communication channel between the parents. This is the most crucial step due to the vulnerability of autistic children. Autistic children often exhibit resistance to change when exposed to new routines and may affect their social skills (Williams & Roberts, 2018). Parents need to be confident of their children’s safety when engaging in the activities at the after-school boys and girls. There is no better way to achieve this than by constantly contacting them, updating them of their children’s progress and needing improvement. Also, engaging the parents through an effective communication channel such as Class Dojo and Remind would be beneficial in liaising with the educators in ensuring that the accommodations best suit the student’s needs. The desired outcome for this strategy is tracking the student’s behavior to ensure the agreed-upon accommodations will help them achieve their goals.
The next step is conducting an event-based engagement. This entails organizing an event such as a sports day where every child will participate and inviting the parents to witness how their child behaves and their interaction with the other students (Smith & Patterson, 2012). This would be especially important for the problematic parents who may be skeptical about the instructor’s review of their children’s behavior and social interaction. The sporting activities will occur in the first half of the day and the engagement process for the rest of the day. This would augment the collaboration between the parents and the instructors to ensure accommodations that complement the students’ needs.
The third is holding conferences to gather their opinions on the best way to implement the accommodations. The purpose of conferences is for the instructor and the parents to share ideas on enhancing communication between the parents and teachers and ensuring sustainability in the long run (Ahram & Falca, 2018). This comes after the parents have a deeper insight into the accommodations that these children need to enhance their social skills. Every parent will be given a pre-conference questionnaire at least one or two months before the conference. They will share ideas on how they believe the accommodations should be implemented, the best communication channel that the instructors should use when communicating with them, and how this will be sustained in the coming future. The desired outcome for this step is drafting a workable plan for the future.
Fourth is volunteer activities where parents will be urged to volunteer on their preferred days to help the instructors. Parent volunteers help reduce the instructor’s workload for a certain period; they assist the children to adapt to their new environment (Epstein et al, 2018). The conference’s aftermath will dictate the type of volunteer activities the parents can take up. For instance, if a parent’s career is counseling, they could volunteer to help children who struggle with social skills and adapting to change. They could engage with them and stress the importance of developing social skills and how it would ease the process. Research shows that both students and instructors benefit from parent engagement through volunteer activities. According to the research, student register improved results both socially and academically while instructors benefit through reduced classroom tasks and plan for other activities and enhanced student motivation that makes it easier to achieve their instructional goals (Epstein et al, 2018).
The final step is the use
of anonymous surveys. An anonymous survey excludes the respondent’s personal information (PI) such as email addresses, names, and telephone numbers (Mike, 2017). The anonymous surveys will be created by the IT specialists using microsft forms. The purpose of the anonymous survey
for the parents is to gather their opinions on the effectiveness of the implemented solutions and suggest areas that need improvement. This will include their opinions on the communication channels, the event-based engagement, the conference, and the volunteer activities. The anonymous survey will reveal how satisfied the parents are with their children’s involvement in the after-school activities and the levels of communication between them and the instructors to identify the accommodation tools that need improvement to enhance the student’s outcomes.
Timeline
There are five steps outlined to implement the action plan. First is developing a reliable communication channel, second is event-based engagement, third is holding conferences, fourth is encouraging parent volunteers, and fifth is conducting anonymous surveys. The first step to developing a reliable communication channel will occur between August 1, 2021 and August 15, 2021. Afterward, the parents will be invited for an event-based engagement to witness how their children interact with others from November 30, 2021 to December 13, 2021. The students will break for Christmas, allowing the parents to brainstorm on the accommodations that they believe best suit their student’s needs, getting ready for the conference that will take place from January 3, 2022 to January 6, 2022.
The parents will engage with the instructors at the conference and share ideas on how to incorporate the accommodations into the children’s activities. Those who would wish to volunteer to reduce the instructor’s workload and help the children achieve their desired outcome would do so between March 1, 2022 and March 16, 2022. The organization will issue anonymous surveys to the parents to gather their opinions on the action plan from May 5, 2022 to May 10, 2022 to allow for correctional strategies to be implemented.
Roles and Responsibilities
The individuals involved in implementing these action plans are the instructors, the parents, education technology specialists, Title I facilitators, and IT specialists. The role of the teachers would be to engage the students in activities, determine their areas of concern, and design the proper accommodations that address their issues. Teachers are responsible for monitoring the children’s progress and informing the parents (Remillard, et, al, .2020). Also, they should organize an event-based engagement for the parents to gain a deeper insight into their children’s behavior and participation in activities and design the most suitable accommodations for them.
The education technology specialists help design and create reliable communication tools such as ClassDojo and Remind that enhance communication between parents and teachers. The title I facilitators aid the teachers in planning and holding the conferences while the IT specialists are responsible for designing the anonymous surveys to be sent to the parents. The parent’s role is to attend the organized conferences and event-based engagements to confirm the teacher’s comments regarding their children’s behavior. Additionally, the parents are responsible for participating in the decision-making regarding the most suitable accommodations for their children and volunteering to help reduce the instructor’s work (Jillian, 2021). Parent involvement in designing accommodations for their children results in better outcomes since they understand their children better (Chiang ,2017)Also, they are responsible for completing the anonymous survey to help point out the areas that need improvement.
Resources
The required resources for implementing this action plan include funds to pay the IT specialist and the educational technology entrepreneurs, Class Dojo and Remind, program presentations, Sogosurvey tools, and pre-conference questionnaires.
Class Dojo is a communication tool that will aid in accomplishing the first step of developing reliable communication channels between the parents and instructors. A Class Dojo is a comprehensive communication tool through which the instructors can relay text messages to the parents and award or take away points from the child’s behavioral report based on their positive or harmful behavior (Morgan, 2016). The instructor can later download the report and share it with the parents. This makes it easier to contact the parents, especially those whose children engage in violent behaviors, to engage with the instructors and design the best accommodation that best suits their needs.
The other resource is Remind. Remind is a tool that eases communication between the parents and the teachers, as it enables the relay of text messages to the parents without needing them to share their cell phone numbers (Hansen, 2020). The data on Reminds website reveals that 70% of the U.S teacher population currently use the communication tool (Remind, 2022). The advantage of the tool is that the instructors can send any file format to the parents, including videos pictures, to an individual parent or a group. It would enhance the implementation of the action plan since those who cannot attend the event-based engagement to monitor their student’s behavior may rely on the shared photos and videos to determine the most appropriate accommodations to increase their desired outcomes. The tool can act as an alternative to the class dojo or as a reinforcement to improve the communication between the parents and the instructors at the Boys and Girls Club of America.
The other resource is the Sogosurvey tool that will help carry out the anonymous survey. SoGoSurvey is a cloud-based tool that can create online surveys that fit the user’s intentions (Belew &Elad, 2017). The users can use the computer-generated survey questions or rely on various templates to design their questions. The survey is then shared with the respondents through online links, SMS, emails, or other desirable platforms. The respondents then answer the questions and send them back to the user through the same communication platform. In this case, the anonymous surveys will be designed by the IT specialists relying on the various templates, and the link to the survey will be sent to the parents through Remind.
Next are program presentations that will be utilized in the second step of inviting the parents for the event-based engagement. Presentation programs are software used to display information in form of slideshows (Pokorny & Warren, 2021) the event-based engagement entails the instructor organizing an event such as a sports day and inviting the parents to witness how their children relate with the others to confirm whether the remarks made by the instructor regarding the children’s behavior are accurate. The first part of the event will be the sporting activities, while the next will be an engagement between the instructors and the parents. This is where the program presentations come in. The instructors will utilize the presentations to utilize the children’s progress over time regarding their transition into new routines and their social response to the new activities. The presentations will display a timeline of the student’s behavior, whether they are improving or backsliding, to inform the parent’s decision on the most appropriate accommodations.
The other resources that will aid in implementing the action plan include preconference questionnaires that will be sent to the parents to fill in to determine the scope of the conference. Additionally, the organization would need funds to compensate the IT specialists who will design the anonymous surveys and the education technology entrepreneurs who would design Remind and Class Dojo communication tools.
Organizational Support
The Boys and Girls Club of America has variety sources of finances such as government grants, donations, and the Office of the Juvenile and Delinquency prevention of the Juvenile Justice Department.
The organization will utilize the funds from these stakeholders to cater for specific resources such as the hiring of IT specialists and education technology entrepreneurs. The organization’s leadership will seek sponsorship from organizations such as the Mott Foundation to install Remind and Class Dojo to enhance communication between the parents and the instructors. The Mott Foundation provides financial support through grants to nonprofit organizations that work to better the lives of community members (Mott Foundation, 2022).
Barriers or Resistance
The anticipated barriers or resistance in implementing this action plan are the parents’ lack of confidence in the communication tools, Remind and Class Dojo. While some parents may embrace the use of the tools in communicating with the instructors, some who are not familiar with such technologies may prefer their messages to be relayed through SMS. Also, some of the text messages or files may be misinterpreted or misunderstood, resulting in conflicts. The primary source of conflict between parents and instructors is a misinterpretation of information relayed through informal sources such as text messages (Watson, et, al, 2018). Before installing the communication tools, the parents will be engaged on the Importance and the benefits of using the communication tools. Additionally, it would be essential for the instructors to relay text messages that are clear and concise to avoid ambiguities that would result in misinterpretation.
The other barrier to implementing this action plan is the parent’s reluctance to participate in the activities outlined in the summary table. It is expected that some of the parents may not be able to attend the event-based engagement and still file complaints regarding their children’s reports which is likely to result in conflicts. Such parents will be mobilized to attend at least one of the activities to realize their children’s benefits in realizing the desired outcomes. To achieve, this the dates of the events will be communicated in due time, and the parents will be sent interactive videos of a previous meeting to motivate them to attend the next event.
Evaluation
The metrics of this action plan include tracking of the children’s behavior to determine the most suitable accommodations, enhanced collaboration between the parents and instructors, helping the children to achieve their goals, reducing the instructor’s workload, and gathering opinions on the level of parent’s satisfaction with the implemented strategies to identify the areas that need improvement. To determine its effectiveness, every goal will be benchmarked against the corresponding desired outcomes or metrics.
For instance, developing an effective communication channel between the parents and instructors will be benchmarked with the desired outcome of tracking the student’s behavior to decide the accommodations that best suit their needs. This will be done by comparing the students’ behavior before and after implementing the communication channels. Also, the parent’s satisfaction with the communication channels and their engagement in designing accommodations for their children. This will be aided by the anonymous surveys where the parents will express their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the implemented strategies, giving room for correction and improvement.
Reflection on the Overall Experience
America’s boys and girls club has been in operation since 1860 and has been bettering the lives of youngsters aged between six and sixteen, among them autistic children, by engaging them in after-school activities. The club also engages the students in arts programs and other leisure activities to improve their wellbeing. However, the club has been faced with the challenge of autistic children being resistant to change when exposed to new activities at the club that are not part of their routines. The best solution was incorporating accommodations such as visual aids to aid the children’s transition into new activities.
The practical implementation of this strategy requires effective communication between the instructors at the club and the parents to determine the most suitable accommodations that suit the children’s needs. A collaborative approach between parents and instructors improves the children’s attitude towards the activities and performance (Young, et, al, 2018). This action plan entails the communication tools such as Remind and ClassDojo that enhance the communication between the two parties and activities such as event-based engagement, conferences, and volunteer activities that will ensure the parents’ s participation in designing accommodations that suits the children’s needs.
Part 8: Visual Presentation of SRP
Narrative of Visual Electronic Presentation
The presentation covered the dilemma facing autistic children in the After School programs, focusing on the Boys and Girls Club of America. America’s boys and girls club was founded in the 1860s to help and prevent youngsters from becoming delinquents. I am currently an unpaid consultant at the club, responsible for strategizing its operations to ensure it meets its goals, making it easier to effectively design strategies to engage autistic children in the Afterschool programs. Autistic children face various challenges such as communication and social problems, which deters them from fully participating in the after-school programs that could change their health and wellbeing. The various programs offered in the club, such as art, education, sports, recreation, health, and wellbeing, are essential in helping autistic children overcome their challenges.
However, the club has been facing the challenge of autistic children being resistant to change. The literature review on autistic children being resistant to change revealed that this was due to a lack of accommodations and enough specialists to help the children cope with change. The proposed solutions included hiring more specialists, introducing accommodations, and spending more time with their children. After analyzing the pros and cons of the solutions, the most appropriate was the introduction of the accommodations.
Afterward, there is the identification of two strategies that will help implement the solution: communicating with parents and using visual aids. The research adopts the quantitative strategic plan matrix to determine the most feasible strategy among the two. The internal and external evaluation matrices reveal that communication with parents Is the most feasible solution since it has the highest total attractiveness score. An action plan that is carried out from August 1, 2021, to May 6, 2022, is put in place to implement the most feasible strategy for realizing the best outcomes for autistic children coping with change through accommodations.
Peer Review Questions of Peers
Narrative of peer reviewed questions. Please discuss your thoughts regarding these reviews.
Oral Defense of the SRP
Narrative of selected questions that were presented. (introduction to section)
Narrative Defense of Selected Questions
Narrative of review from faculty online session. (review/reflection of two questions)
Part 9: Conclusion
Findings
Narrative
Recommendations
Narrative
Final Conclusions
Narrative
References
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Appendix A
Mission Statement
The mission statement of the Boys and Girls club is to enable all young people, especially
those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible
citizens.
Appendix B
Vision Statement
Boys and Girls club Provide a world-class Club Experience that assures success is
within reach of every young person who enters our doors, with all members on track to
graduate from high school with a plan, demonstrating good character and
citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle
Appendix C
Value Statement
Boys and Girls club is committed that every kid has what it takes. The mission and core
beliefs of Boys & Girls Clubs fuel our commitment to promoting safe, positive and
inclusive environments for all. Boys & Girls Clubs of America supports all youth and
teens – of every race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, ability,
socio-economic status, and religion – in reaching their full potential.
�the format of the data should be August 8, 2021. Edit all of them.
�revise this sentence. Expand it.
�How do you know they will improve?
�the issue???? Explain please.
�Who will develop the survey and how?
�Who?
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9A- This section should include the main findings, recommendations, and final conclusions on the SRP.
9B- You will need to draft a one-page Executive Summary. This document will be inserted in the front portion of your SRP Manuscript. An Executive Summary will provide your audience an overview of your entire SRP Manuscript. Your executive summary must reflect the content of the entire paper. It should address the following main points:
Purpose – what is the point of the document.
Problem – the final one of 40 factors.
Solution – your final selected choice.
Action Plan – an overall summary.
Recommendations – your possible recommendations.
Part 9: Conclusion
Findings
This research has highlighted the need for increasing mentors for women in the STEM fields per the needs of Propel America, Inc. Recruiting and sustaining mentors within the STEM profession is vital to the success of the Propel mentorship program for women interested to and in the STEM field. This research has identified several barriers to recruiting and training future STEM mentors. This research has also identified the need for increasing mentors for women of color, in particular. This research has identified two methods to help Propel America, Inc., increase mentorship for women in STEM: mentoring self-matching and mentoring support network.
The Propel STEM mentoring program has faced several barriers to increasing mentorship due to COVID-19. However, the lifting of several restrictions has provided an opportunity for Propel to reorganize and implement effective strategies for recruitment and sustainability. A new recruitment campaign has been initiated to help identify and recruit mentors from the STEM fields that can provide not only a firm foundation within the STEM disciplines academically, but also the needed experience young adolescent women must have to be valuable and effective STEM professionals. Propels STEM mentoring has identified a few organizations that are willing to collaborate with the organization to help fill the ranks of much needed mentors.
The literature is clear that women mentors in STEM is needed (AAUW, 2021). Women overwhelmingly fall behind males in both STEM majors and professions (Hegewisch & Hartmann, 2014). The need for STEM mentors is necessary to help increase female presentation for both STEM majors and in STEM fields. The literature has also identified two key effective strategies for helping to increase STEM mentors for women namely in the form of mentoring self-matching and creating a mentoring support network. Based on this research the most effective approach to help Propel America’s mentoring program is creating a mentoring support network.
Recommendations
This research has determined that the most effective strategy for increasing the number of STEM mentors for the Propel mentoring program is the mentoring support network. The mentoring support network is important to addressing four main goal areas: identifying and recruiting mentors and creating a database, implementing training for mentors, implement training for mentees, and formulating a network by which mentors can work together in an organized network. Propel has begun to collaborate with external organizations to help recruit and increase the mentor pool. This is essential for Propel to build out their mentoring database.
The second and third goals seek to formally train mentors and mentees on effective strategies for engaging in a healthy mentor and mentee relationship. While there is no one approach to this method, this research provides some parameters for doing so effectively and collaboratively for the benefit of both the mentor and mentee. Lastly, the fourth goal names the need for the mentor relationship to provide a structured approach to support mentors so that they are not overwhelmed or underwhelmed with the mentoring relationship. Ultimately, the goal is to increase the representation of women in the STEM fields and an effective mentorship can allow that to occur. As such, this research presented vital information for the mentoring program at Propel to use to build up their current process.
Executive Summary
The Dilemma Facing Women of Color in STEM.Strategic Research Project, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Keywords: STEM, women, education, underrepresented, PROPEL, gender, mentoring
STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Within the last several years, STEM has blossomed as a major profession throughout the United States. Careers in STEM have grown more than three times the rate of non-STEM jobs. This pace is not projected to slow down through the next decade. The challenge is that there is a lack of representation of women of color or women in general in STEM related majors and careers. Research suggests that men have dominated the STEM majors, degree conferrals and careers in the last several years.
Understanding the rationale of what motivates both women and women of color to pursue a career in STEM is essential in identifying the gaps in interest, availability and opportunities. Through research of existing literature, it shows that women overwhelmingly lag behind men in representation in STEM fields. This strategic research project was designed to provide solutions for identifying and increasing strategies currently utilized at PROPEL, Inc., an after-school high school program geared towards increasing women and women of color in STEM fields at the undergraduate level. By analyzing the possibilities, barriers, and strategies evaluated, the data indicated that the mentoring support network provided a better strategy for addressing issues of mentorship among women in STEM. The mentoring support network provides opportunities for leadership, teamwork, collaboration building and strategies for the mentor and mentee in strengthening and encouragement. The action plan demonstrates how to implement the best solution for “what works” regarding increasing female students in effective academic programs in STEM. It is the recommendation of this study that the most effective strategy for increasing the number of STEM mentors for the Propel mentoring program is the mentoring support network.
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