Teamwork is the theme for January at DCI.
A series of activities have been planned such as games, puzzles, scavenger hunt, etc. to help reinforce the idea of working together to achieve a common goal. Why is this important for I/DD consumers?
Teamwork requires social skills. Social skills are linked to communication skills, including the ability to understand figurative speech, and abstract ideas. These skills are many times underdeveloped in persons with I/DD challenges. This makes something like “teamwork” a concept difficult to grasp and put into practice.
DCI consumers practice skills every day, including manners, writing, math, time, etc. Social Skills need repetition to be understood and learned. That is why one whole month will be devoted to a selected Social skill, and practiced as often as possible that month. Building on that skill, others will be added as the year goes on.
The first “teamwork” assignment was to take an odd assortment of containers and try to construct a tower. The first two tries did not work as everyone attempted to work independently. But with Staff explaining, demonstrating, and coaching, the third try produced a tower, built with everyone’s cooperation! Consumers were laughing and very excited as they watched their tower grow. Teamwork! What a great skill for all to learn and practice.
