Watch
Have
you ever seen a Leader without Followers?
New
Leadership Social Skills Groups, Camps &
Services in Orlando & Winter Park.
"I was first!" "You are doing it wrong!" "I
want to go next!" "Can I be first!" These
are a few statements from students that most
likely exhibit leadership skills. They are
often told to go to the end of the line, or
given a consequence for telling someone what
to do, but maybe they need 
someone
to tell them "what to do." Silly to think of
someone that calls themselves a leader, but
have yet have no followers. However, there
are future leaders around us that need to
learn how to find followers to influence,
but they just need some direction. We might
call them "Bossy" but they are really
leaders that need some tweaking. Some might
say they are "Caretakers", but really they
want to Help others but not sure what is the
right way. We might have "Gossipers" or they
are just future Communicators that need to
learn the how to communicate more
positively.
Consider how a student views leadership.
Basically, they see leaders (parents,
teachers, principal, police) as anyone that
"tells them what to do (bosses them)." So
when they start to assert their leadership
skills they start telling their friends what
to do and tell them how to do things and
therefore they are called "Bossy." Big
surprise! So instead of calling these kids
"Bossy" maybe we could give them suggestions
on how to lead, affirm, compliment, build
others up, brag on other's rather than
themselves, take an interest in someone's
life or passions, offer help to someone,
share an idea, etc.
According to Dr. Russell Barkley, MD,
students with ADHD/ADD (Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder or Attention Deficit
Disorder) are often 25-30% behind socially
and emotionally. Students like these may not
have ADHD and need help with boundaries,
assertion, impulse control, coping skills,
starting conversations, greeting, etc., to
help close the gap.
The premise of our Leadership Groups is to teach students
leadership. Once they know how to lead and
do some of the above listed items, they will
in turn make their peers feel good to be
around them and gain their influence. Once
they have influence they have "friends" and
can call themselves a leader. Students are
taught how to roll with teasing with comical
statements that do not provoke their peer.
Our groups incorporate Power Point, a point
system, parent involvement, and experiential
learning which include games used at ropes
courses to improve communication, teamwork,
and help students connect with their peers.
Students are taught that "Trust" is the glue
in relationships and everything we do with
our peers either builds trust or breaks
trust. Students are encouraged to Re-Build
Trust with a peer in our groups by doing
something nice for whomever's trust was
broken in an effort to repair the trust. Our
groups have been very effective and Channel
13 did a story on one of our students who
reported having no friends to having friends
as a result of our services. Click here to watch the Video.
Information on Our Social Skills/Leadership Summer Camps
Orlando Metro West Area Groups
Mondays at 5pm 1st-4th grade
Mondays at 6pm 5th-9th grade
Leadership Day Camp
Our Orlando Leadership Day Camps incorporate
the same principles of the groups, but also
include the experiential learning of a ropes
course. For more information, videos and pictures click here.
SaturdayOrlando Leadership Camp Date:
April 26th, 2008
Stay Tuned for
our Orlando Saturday Horse Camps.
If you know of students or families that
would benefit from these services or would
like to set up a screening for the group or
consultation with James West, MA, LMHC,
NCC or if
you would like Jim to present at your
school, church or organization on this topic or others please call us at
Total Life Counseling Center at
407-248-0030.
