As fall quickly approaches and we get ready to move into cooler weather, I can't help but to take a moment to slow down and reflect. The past few months have certainly tested us all in many ways. Trying to navigate a "new normal" is not easy and for many of the individuals whom we support within the MSE community the world has become an unfamiliar and scary place. I miss seeing people and the daily interactions. I miss coffee breaks with coworkers, in-class teaching with students and most of all, I miss the members of the MSE program; the heart and soul of what I do.
When the pandemic first happened I thought creating this digital newsletter would provide some easy programming ideas for caregivers , parents, support workers, other professionals in the field and friends, during a difficult time. I have included the links to all previous issues below if you happened to miss one. Moving forward, I will continue to release at least 1 digital newsletter per month. I am always open to feedback and if there is a certain topic that you are interested in learning more about, please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email!
In addition to the monthly newsletter, as some of you are aware, the MSE Lab partnered with our Expressive Arts students this summer for an interactive virtual programming field placement experience. The students were paired with members of the MSE Lab who were then provided with at least three 45-minute virtually- led expressive arts sessions. Some of these sessions included painting, sensory play, story telling, music, guided meditations among many other creative modalities. The entire experience went extremely well and feedback from participants revealed that the programming couldn't have come at a better time. I was present for most of the sessions and it was so lovely to see some of your faces again, hear your voice and simply "be with you":)
As you will have likely heard by now, Mohawk College and more specifically, the Multi-Sensory Lab will remain closed ,as per the email memo that was sent out earlier this month (please see below).
"As we get set to enter the month of September, there will continue to be limited on-campus services available and general access to the campus will not be permitted. The Fall semester will begin as planned in early September, however; with all lecture-based program components delivered in a remote/virtual environment. Additionally, all internal events will continue to run virtually until the end of December 2020".
With that said and due to the success of the MSE Lab and Expressive Arts partnership, I have been brainstorming about the possibility of providing sensory-based programming via a virtual platform.
To provide you with a bit more context, these virtual sessions could be provided to individuals or groups and could include some of the following:
- Guided Sensory Stories
- Expressive arts using the senses
- Sensory Strategies Sessions
- One-on-one sensory diets
- "Check-in" and questions
If this is something that you and the individual whom you support would be interested in, please send me an email directly to:
multisensorylab@mohawkcollege.ca
It has certainly been a busy summer full of ups and downs but I will leave you with a quote that I have seen over and over again either on business windows on the quiet streets of my home-town or tweeted and retweeted online by friends, coworkers and family:
"tough times never last; but tough people do"- R. Schuller.
