Wellness Student of the Month

By Jim Walsh, The Bloomington Center

Matt Patterson works at the IU Wright Food court hauling piles of heavy trays, washing pots and pans, carrying out the trash, and wiping tables during the hectic daily ebb and flow of the student population. However, rather than just zonking out on the couch after such a physically strenuous shift, Matt has been keeping with his own active fitness program.

On Mondays, Matt has an individual wellness session where he does an hour of guided weight training. This session is also used to monitor Matt’s weight, which has steadily been declining since the summer. “I haven’t had French fries for like 4 months, I’ve also cut back on my pop,” Matt said. “I can’t wait till it gets warmer, when I can walk and ride my bike around more.”

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Bloomington Center Student is the Cat’s Meow

By Jim Walsh, The Bloomington Center

Adam Breall and I were up to Bloomington’s “Instant Gratification Movie Challenge,” a monthly indie movie filming collective. Each month a theme is chosen like “King for a Day,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” and “Behind the Scenes.” Each participant is encouraged to take their own interpretation of the theme, film a movie, and at the end of the month all the movies are shown at a local concert venue.

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Get Ready For Spring Break 2010!

Students enrolled at CIP have the option of attending a fun and educational travel program one week a year during the college spring break in March. This year CIP students will diverge across the world to Ireland, Hawaii, Washington D.C. and a Caribbean Cruise!

Students prepare for this trip through a series of class meetings in which they study the language, arts, culture and trip itinerary. Each year an exciting new world destination is chosen and students get a cultural experience they will never forget with staff and their peers.

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Bloomington Weekend Activities

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I’m Independent: A Guide to Prove It

By the students at the Brevard Center

A guide on how to change your parents perspectives during home visitations.

Since you have come to CIP you have made many strides; college, and internship, having roommates, pushing yourself to do new things (and some you might not even be aware of). Your parents, wishing the best for you, gave you this opportunity to learn and grow independently of them.

Now that you are home, you may start to feel like you are in the middle of both worlds, your life living at home with your parents and your life at CIP. The students at the Brevard Center have brainstormed some ways to fight regression and make the most out of your changing relationships with your family.

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Chicago Tribune: Life, Social Skills Focus of Indiana Autism Program

By Mike Leonard
December 12, 2009

Every student in the College Internship Program in downtown Bloomington has a story to tell about overcoming adversity. For many, a big problem is feeling comfortable in social situations and making and keeping friends.

For others, it’s the intense focus they put into matters at hand, which causes them to forget about appointments and deadlines until it’s too late. Some struggle with beginning a task, or completing one.

Read the rest on the Chicago Tribune website

Wellness Students of the Month

Modern and Innovative Techniques to Create Healthier Lifestyles

At the core of the program, CIP is committed to address the wellness of each student. The Wellness Program offers nutrition classes, fitness training, sensory diets, yoga and exercise clubs and many more modern and innovative techniques which help create healthier lifestyles and provide education about physical fitness and well-being.

The CIP Wellness Students of the Month are…

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Newspaper Houses: Wellness Class with IU Occupational Therapy Students – VIDEO

By Jim Walsh, Bloomington Center Student Advisor

During Wellness Class on Thursdays, we are visited by Occupational Therapy students and their course instructor, Sharon Pape, from the Indiana University Department of Occupational Therapy.

During these visits, the OT students are meeting with individual CIP students and facilitating small group activities for our CIP students to participate in and enjoy.

Newspaper Houses Video
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Dates Set for CIP’s New Teen Summer Programs

Nov 2009 – The College Internship Program (CIP) has announced dates and locations of their four summer programs for teens age 16-19 with learning differences. The two-week program will be held on the campuses of four highly rated colleges in California, Indiana, Massachusetts and Florida and is designed to prepare students for the transition from high school to college or careers.

While students will attend classes covering topics such as time management, organizational skills and social thinking, the focus will be on fostering connections and having fun.

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Roommate Meetings at the Bloomington Center

By Megan Ertel, Bloomington Center Residential Coordinator

What makes roommate meetings so special? Everyone is so busy with their day to day lives that roommates may not have the chance to see one another, let alone talk about issues or concerns they are having. Roommate meetings provide structure and a safe space where roommates can talk to one another about important issues.

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Video Self-Modeling in Social Thinking: A Student Perspective

By Amy Barnhill, Bloomington Center Social Thinking Instructor

At the Bloomington Center, we are very excited about our continued use of video as an intervention tool in our social thinking program! The two video techniques we’re using are “Video Self-Modeling” and “Video Self-Evaluation.” In Video Self-Modeling, the students observe themselves performing a social behavior successfully and then imitate that behavior in the natural environment.

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Bloomington Welcomes New Residential Coordinator

Meet Megan Ertel, the Bloomington Center’s new Residential Coordinator!

Megan grew up in North Vernon, Indiana and graduated with her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Indianapolis. She went on to receive a M.A. in Clinical Psychology from U of I. Wanting to focus on all types of health and wellness, not just mental health, brought her to Indiana University, where she received her M.S. in Health Promotion after one year of intense schooling.

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