Mission Cognition

I know this is probably hard to read. My eyes have officially hit the age where I really need to zoooooom in there close.

But nevertheless, I feel called to share:

When someone visits Mission Cognition for the first time, I don’t want the first thing they learn about us to be our schedule or our list of services.

I’d rather they understand why we’re here in the first place. What are our values, what’s our mission, how are we going to show up for their loved one.

As we put together our Day Program tour folders, we decided to include something a little different.

Instead of starting with logistics, we start with our story.

This is the letter every prospective family will receive when they walk through our doors.

I hope it gives people a sense of who we are and why we built this program.

At this point we’ve probably all heard it: “Cooperation over Compliance”. It sounds nice. It feel warm and fuzzy…

But what does this actually mean?
What does it look like in practice?
How do these values show up in everyday interactions?

Without clearer definitions and understanding, we open ourselves us to misunderstandings about what this means and doesn’t mean. Without clarity, we also risk just using trendy buzzwords without walking the walk.

Over the last few months, I’ve been focused on further developing our adult services program as we prepared for the final phase of becoming a State Certified Day Habilitation Program.

The experience has further solidified two things for me. First, I absolutely loathe paperwork. But that’s neither here nor there.

I’ll admit, I was hesitant when parents first started asking us to develop a 21+ program. We do social groups. That’s our thing.

This felt like uncharted territory.

It’s interesting because, on the surface, it looks very different from the work many people know us for. The participants are different. The service delivery model is different. The day to day work looks different.

But the more time I’ve spent immersed in all aspects of the program, the more I’ve realized I’m still asking the same question I’ve been asking since I started Mission Cognition in 2013.

***How do we create more meaningful opportunities for social participation? ***

Sometimes that means helping a young child learn how to join another child’s play. Sometimes it means supporting an adult as they build friendships, develop greater independence, advocate for themselves, and become more connected to their community. Other times it means working alongside clinicians, educators, or organizations that are trying to create those same opportunities for the individuals they serve.

The work looks different depending on the setting, but the purpose behind it has stayed remarkably consistent.

I think realizing that has given me a lot of clarity about where Mission Cognition is headed.

Thanks for being along for the journey.

“First work, then play.”

It’s a phrase we hear all the time.

But what if play is the work?

One of the biggest misconceptions in child development is that play is something children earn after they’ve finished learning. As if play is a reward. A break. A distraction from the “real work.”

Developmental science tells us something very different.

Play is where children develop communication, emotional regulation, executive functioning, flexible thinking, problem solving, self-advocacy, and the social skills that lead to meaningful friendships. It’s where they learn to notice peers, initiate interactions, negotiate, navigate conflict, recover from mistakes, and experience the joy of belonging.

Children don’t jump straight into cooperative play. Play develops along a continuum. Exploratory/Sensory play, solitary play, parallel play, associative play, and cooperative play each serve an important developmental purpose. Every stage has value. Every stage provides opportunities for growth.

At Mission Cognition, we don’t treat play as something children have to earn. We recognize it as the natural context for learning. We intentionally design play experiences that are motivating, relationship-based, and developmentally meaningful because children learn best when they are engaged, connected, and emotionally safe.

Sometimes the most important work happening in therapy looks like children laughing, building, pretending, creating, and connecting with one another.

It may not look like work to adults.

But for children, it often is the most important work they’ll do.

Every time I drive by MC now there’s a little voice yelling from the backseat “Mom, Mom, office office!” Impromptu play stop it is

Perks of the job ❤️

Thank you Gym-Jam Team for hosting me for today’s Professional development workshop!

Our focus was trauma informed, neurodiversity affirming, assent based care and of course play, play, play!

The contributions and critical thinking discussions were much appreciated. It’s clear this is a team who walks the talk and shows up as human first for everyone the serve.

Reach out if you’re interested in scheduling a professional development event for your agency, clinic, ir school.

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So excited!! Starting my Applied Educational Neuroscience certificate program through Butler University tonight.

I can’t wait to apply what I’ll learn to take our program to the next level in terms of effectively supporting our learners and deepen my understanding of the nervous system, regulation, and how the brain and body influence learning, behavior, and connection.

We had 6 new participants start in various groups this week.

We get down to business day 1.
There’s no time to waste when it comes to intervention.

Here are our top 3 goals:

Establish ourselves and our environment as a place of TRUST, SAFETY, and SECURITY.

Everything else will fall into place over time as long as we prioritize this foundation.

This activity squirmed its way to the top of our favorites list! 🪱🤣

Our social learning program is based on weekly themes tied to stories.

We recently did, Worm Makes a Sandwich by Brianne Farley.

Side note: the story does use the word “poop” so prepare yourself for some shenanigans.

Our model is built off of core activities aligned with specific social domains and individual Target skills. The idea is that themes keep it novel, fun, interesting and the framework of core activities keeps it focused and provides ample opportunities to teach, practice & reinforce priority targets.

For this activity the kids partnered up and took on roles as worm or feeder. The feeder had to decide which foods the worm wanted on their plate.

This friend tucked their arms in to fully assume their role as worm. Silly silly 🤪

The activity was differentiated for various partners dependent upon which skills were being emphasized. Some partners worked on asking and answering questions to complete the same activity such as, “Do you like ———?” “Do you want ————?” While others worked on nonverbal communication by responding through head nodes/shakes, or changes in expression.

Standing in the hallway fully in my feels listening to multiple groups running. The engagement, the enthusiasm, the support. I’m so proud of my team, I’m so proud of the kids, I’m so proud of this program.

We talk the talk about being neurodiversity affirming, trauma informed, evidence based and it all sounds good, but it’s putting that talk into action and having those values and that mission show up in all aspects of care that really matters.

Some days are extremely difficult, but it’s always worth it and I will always take time to sit, be present and soak in days like this where everything just works.