Admissions/Outreach Team: Positivity throughout Latham’s Virtual Learning

As the 2019-2020 Latham School year came to an end and staff shifted into preparations for a modified year-end celebration and extended school year Summertide Program, Katrina Fryklynd, Director of National Outreach, reflected, “Positivity prevailed during the many weeks of Latham’s Virtual Learning programming!” Katrina wrote:

“I have been involved in the creation of Latham Centers’ Virtual Learning platform, and I have continued to talk with families across the country who have children at home diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome.  The past few months have been overwhelmingly positive; I have witnessed encouragement, hope, and comradery. I have worked at Latham Centers since 2013, and I have never been more impressed with the companionship among peers, support between colleagues, and continued positivity and enthusiasm. When COVID-19 was first discussed, no one could have guessed how it would alter our entire lifestyle. What has been reinforced is the strength of our Latham Centers community, the commitment of our staff to our students, and the incredible peer to peer support between our kiddos. When we started Virtual Learning, clinicians immediately offered Zoom group sessions daily in which participants were offered the opportunity to connect with one another, despite having to keep distance. Teachers banded together to create lesson plans suitable for online learning. Virtual Storytimes and Social Hours enabled kiddos with PWS from across the country to connect with the students from Latham, creating a new community unlike any of them have experienced. It’s been absolutely overwhelming and encouraging to see the beacon of light that Latham Centers has become for our entire community.”

 Katrina compiled the following list of positive affirmations and self-talk created by our students in one of their online clinical sessions:

1. Participate in something you feel really good about.

2. Write down what you do well.

3. Remind yourself of what you’ve been learning and overcoming.

4. Give five compliments and accept five compliments.

5. Tell yourself how you are a good person.

Thank you to Katrina for sharing these glimmers of hope and appreciation!