Summer Series 2023: APEX Summer Program

Funding Source: Gertrude Albert Heller Memorial Grant

This summer, I’ve had the incredible opportunity of returning as a clinical intern/counselor to APEX Summer Camp, a five-week evidence-based clinical treatment program through the University of Washington Autism Center. APEX utilizes a naturalistic camp environment to improve social and motor skills, facilitate positive peer relationships, and grow self-esteem in children ages 5-12 with Autism Spectrum Disorder and severe ADHD.

One thing I love about this program is the variety of activities I engage in and skills I get to practice. My daily responsibilities include teaching new sports skills in our “skills drills,” leading board game and sports periods, and facilitating group discussions. Each week of camp, we focus on a new social skill – communication, cooperation, validation, or participation – which are incorporated into every discussion and activity we lead.

Another part of my job as a clinical intern/counselor is to track each camper’s progress across the five weeks of camp. Every Thursday, my team analyzes behavioral data that we collect throughout the day, and we create three evidence-based goals for each camper for the following week – called “Daily Report Cards.” An example of a DRC goal for a camper who struggles socially might be: “Initiate two conversations with new peers each day.” If campers meet most or all of their goals at camp, they receive a home reward. It is pretty amazing to see the growth our campers make throughout the five-week program!

As a returning counselor, I have enjoyed stepping into more of a leadership role this summer. It has been a great experience to incorporate all that I have learned from my first year at APEX, and from courses and practicum experiences through Haverford, to my responsibilities this year. For example, I am using research I conducted for my Haverford Psychology Practicum course last Spring about teaching sexual health and consent to children with Autism to design and lead a social skills lesson and activity for my campers called: “Respecting physical boundaries.” I look forward to bringing the knowledge I have gained from Haverford into this process, as well as learning from the doctoral students and licensed psychologists I work with about how to best design and approach these lessons.

APEX hires interns from across disciplines, creating a community of dedicated individuals that all bring different perspectives and skills to the table. I have enjoyed learning from peers in fields as varied as Applied Behavior Analysis, Nursing, and School Psychology. Regardless of which field we are interested in or are coming from, at the end of the day, we come back each day to interact with these children – many of whom have previously been kicked out of other summer camps or their schools before – and help them thrive in a welcoming environment that accepts them fully and gives them many chances to grow. Although this field is potentially one of the most draining careers, it is (I think) also one of the most rewarding. To be able to watch a campers’ progress over just five weeks – whether that is witnessing a child score a homerun in a sport they had never heard of before coming to camp, or watching them make new friends after having struggled socially their whole lives – is so fulfilling.

Another great part about working with children in an educational and recreational setting is how experiential, hands-on, and varied your work can look. In a career like School Psychology, each day might look a little different, and you are rarely just sitting in an office.

I went into my second year of this internship knowing that I want to work with children and adolescents in a mental health and/or educational setting. The work I am doing this summer has not only confirmed those goals, it has also helped narrow down my career interests to School or Clinical Psychology. The two individuals who mentor me most closely at APEX are doctoral students in School Psychology, and I have enjoyed hearing about their experiences and how they came to decide on this particular field. Working at APEX, I have also realized that regardless of which path I take, I want to choose a career that allows me flexibility, creativity, and provides a diverse variety of settings to practice. Once you get to play dodgeball as part of your daily work, it is hard to imagine sitting in an office five days a week

My work at APEX has also solidified and provided me with new skills: leading a group of first year interns, clinical/interpersonal skills, working with children, creativity, thinking on my feet, and resilience. This last skill is especially important at APEX. Parts of my day can be very challenging, both physically and emotionally. However, being able to create a work life balance by leaving behind the events of the day at work and focusing on my family and friends when I get home, helps me come back refreshed and ready for the next day and all that it will bring.

My Advice for the Summer Internship Search:

• Use your resources! Haverford has some truly amazing resources that are at your disposal. Who knows when you’ll have such dedicated mentors and personalized funding sources again? I recommend using Handshake, Haverford Connect, or setting up a meeting with CCPA mentors to help you find internship opportunities. If you find something that interests you, look into funding resources on the CCPA website. I am very grateful that the CCPA is able to support me financially this summer.
• Don’t be afraid to try something out of your comfort zone. Now is your chance to try out different career options and learn as much as you can! Even if you think you might want to pursue a certain profession/field, why not try something of interest that is totally different? You never know what you might learn not only about the field, but also yourself!
• Ask as many questions as you can, and don’t worry about looking stupid. An internship is such a great learning opportunity. I’ve found that most of the time professionals are happy to help you. Questions that you might think are stupid will most likely help out other interns who were wondering the same thing but were hesitant to ask.
• Ask for what you want (respectfully). It is an important skill to be able to advocate for yourself and your needs. Mentors appreciate driven, ambitious interns who are able to respectfully articulate their goals and what they think they can offer. I was super nervous at first to ask my boss if I could be more involved in clinical work this summer. However, once I asked him, he was more than happy to give me more clinical responsibilities! Even if your mentor cannot give you what you are asking for, you will still gain important practice advocating for your needs.