It seems that MINDFULNESS is the new “buzz word” these days. Even our first-grade daughter is learning mindfulness in school! As a therapist, I had a basic understanding of meditation and the scientific research that has demonstrated that a relaxed brain is a healthier brain and can also decrease stress and the impacts of stress on the body. On a cognitive level, meditation for children on the autism spectrum has always made sense to me. AND, I always felt that I couldn’t “do” it. My brain moved too fast and thoughts were always running through my mind. I couldn’t sit still for more than 5 minutes before I got bored and decided that meditation just wasn’t for me.

But over the course of many years, I kept hearing about MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) programs taught at major hospitals and universities. Friends and colleagues kept mentioning the course to me and recommending that I give it a shot. And so, this year after giving the idea of Mindfulness some more thought and recognizing the benefits not just for myself but for our camp community and children on the Autism Spectrum too, I decided to give the program here at the University of Pennsylvania a try.

As I write, I’m about to enter week 7 of the 8-week program. And I have to say, learning about Mindfulness and starting a daily meditation “practice” has really changed the way I interact with the world around me and my own personal experience of myself. While I still feel frustrated, tense, anxious, angry at times, I’m better able to understand those experiences as just moments in time. This allows me not to get “stuck” and to be open to making a choice to feel differently. Is it easy? No. Finding 30 minutes to meditate every day (and doing that 3 times a day while we’re in the “boot camp” phase of the program) has been challenging. Stopping to breathe deeply when I’m feeling really stressed is also not easy. But the challenge has made it even more meaningful.

Because of my own growth, I’m excited to bring Mindfulness to our campers and staff this summer. I truly believe that we can help our campers feel more calm and able to manage their own struggles and hope that they can add Mindfulness to their “toolbox” of coping skills. I will be educating our Leadership Team and our staff about what mindfulness is and how it can change the way we all deal with stressful situations. We, as a staff, will learn how to use mindfulness in our daily interactions with our campers so that we are better able to help them achieve their goals. In addition, I will teach counselors how to use Mindfulness during morning meetings with their bunks and as part of the bedtime routine in an effort to help our campers unwind after a busy day at camp.

As always, our hope is to help our staff and our campers learn how to manage life’s challenges with greater ease and to find more joy in their lives. We believe Mindfulness for children on the Autism Spectrum is yet another tool we can use in this effort.