“Let’s just try it” I overheard one mom saying to her young son as I quickly walked by to get to the group. He was clinging to her hand, crying, and falling to the floor. I asked a rhetorical question to ease the situation, “Is he coming to basketball camp?” “Yes” she responded. I slowed my pace and said, “We are the purple team and we have jerseys that say Shooting Stars, do you want one?”

We walked together over to the large group of parents, children, and behavior interventionists preparing for basketball activities. By the time we got there he was clinging to her whole body. His supervisor stepped in to help the transition and I went on to see the rest of the children at camp.

The whistle blew, it was time to warm up. Drill one, drill two, water break, drill three, drill four, and so on it went.

By the first drill the little boy I passed dreading attending camp was happily participating with the group, with his purple jersey on.

Basketball camp is one of the ACES Focused Social Skills Groups that offers children opportunities to experience new leisure activities and make new friends while working on highly individualized goals. As Coach Albert Anaya (ACES Clinical Quality Service Manager) stated, “Kids can learn that socialization is fun through playing a sport.”

The Focused Social Skills Groups run 4-5 weeks encompassing everything from dance, t-ball, soccer, and basketball, and, coming soon, an art camp.

These camps are important to our families and clients because when the children come, they are motivated to socialize and connect with others because of the fun and energetic environment. Their “Supervisor” becomes their “Coach,” their parent becomes their “#1 fan”, and their BI and peers become their “teammates.” It is a truly magical atmosphere that words do not do justice.

Throughout each drill, there were connections being made that would not have been made outside of an ABA basketball camp. “We offer these camps to give our clients the opportunity to participate in something amazing that they may not be able to access otherwise” said Coach (ACES Clinical Quality Service Manager) Samantha Wagner.

ACES places high importance on family-centered-care and continues to offer unique ways to capture learning opportunities to get the whole family involved. Focused Social Groups are one of the many group ABA programs offered that pull together an entire family and community for the success of our clients.