The CIP Student Senate knows how to get the attention of students and staff with one word, FOOD. Whether our passion is eating, cooking or both, the cook-off was an event much anticipated by all. The food was appetizers, the chefs were creative and the competition was fierce. Judging the event were Annette Corrado, Residential Staff, Ryan Therriault, Academic Coordinator, Janet Becker, Social Mentor, and Rose Dougherty, Admissions Coordinator.
Field Day is the last opportunity for students and staff to get together before the semester ends at the Brevard Center and we were joined by students from the CIP High School Summer Program for fun, games, food and good company.
Charlie Jacobs is a third year student at the College Internship Program at the Berkshire Center in Lee, Massachusetts. Charlie was born in New York City, the son of Alan and Barbara Jacobs. He attended the Churchill School in NYC and then graduated from Maplebrook School in Amenia, NY in 2007. Charlie is currently interning with Michael Lavin Flower, a professional photographer, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
I first realized that I had Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) at the age of twenty-seven. A multitude of emotions came over me when I was diagnosed. The initial feeling was an overwhelming sense that I was discovering that I had yet another mental problem (previously I was given a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention deficit disorder). I later developed strong feelings against AS. However, those came about as I learned what it has done to me. The most powerful feeling I have against this syndrome is that I feel that it is hindering my ability to become a complete adult.
“Define Normal” is about two of high school’s “popular kids” who get married and have a child with Asperger’s syndrome. What follows is the young couple’s re-examination of their own lives, the lives of the so-called “speds”, and a controversial term in raising a child – “normal”.
Indiana University
Ivy Tech Community College
People’s University
University of Central Florida
Florida Tech
Brevard Community College
Berkeley City College
Holy Names College
Devry University
Laney College
College of Alameda
San Jose State University
Berkshire Community College
Mildred Elley Business School
C-STEP – Career Skills Training Education/Employment Program
Congrats to all! CIP will continue our mission of inspiring independence and expanding the foundation for students with learning differences to build happy and productive lives. We thank you for your support!
By Jeff Wheeler, CIP Berkshire Academic Coordinator
The staff at the Berkshire Center would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the amazing accomplishments of some of our students. On Friday, June 3, 2010 the following students will be awarded degrees and certificates from Berkshire Community College:
By Daniel Eakin and Moultrie Woodall, Brevard Students Photos by Zach Lichterman, Brevard Student
After a long winter (at least, by Florida’s standards), the Brevard Center’s Garden Club returned to find, to their dismay, what seemed to be a barren wasteland. The frosts of January and February, while major crises for the state’s citrus industry, were nothing less than cataclysmic for the center’s modest vegetable garden.
The Autism Society’s latest issue of The Autism Advocate, themed “Making Friends”, features a group shot of CIP Berkeley students spending a Saturday weekend activity exploring Point Reyes National Park. In the photo are CIP Berkeley students Devon, Sheryl, Jason, Kaityn and Sam.
The issue focuses on the critical importance of social skills, with article on social skills training, teaching skills, peer mentoring and making connections online. You can view the social skills supports that CIP offers by visiting the Social Skills page.
During the Brevard Center’s Spring Break, I went with a group of students to Washington D.C. On the trip we experienced many things including new food, new cultural experiences and an assortment of fascinating museums. We stayed in our nation’s capital for six nights and saw as much as we could.
On the first day, after we checked into the hotel, we took a stroll through the National Mall and got our first glimpse of the Capital Building and the Washington Monument. We ate lunch at Union Station and then explored the shopping there. Later, we continued to discover more of Washington’s sights, and experienced the city at night.
This spring break, Bloomington Center students went on a four night Western Caribbean trip through the Carnival Cruise Lines.
They soaked up sun on the deck, went parasailing, saw live entertainment, bargained with shop owners on Cozumel, lounged by the pool, and each night they had elegant formal dining. In Key West they visited the cats at the Hemmingway house. Upon returning to the mainland, they made a trip to the Florida Everglades and took pictures of alligators. One student, Hannah, actually got to hold a baby alligator. “Its skin felt like a wallet!” she reported.
Ah, the Emerald Isle, what a trip it was! Although, I must admit, things didn’t start on such a rosy note. We arrived in Dublin at 5:30 a.m. cramped and exhausted only to learn that it would be an hour and a half before our coach arrived to transport us to our hotel.
That’s not so bad, right? Sure it’s not provided your rooms are ready when you arrive at your hotel, which ours weren’t. Thank goodness for Frank, tour guide extraordinaire, who rearranged our itinerary so that we would start our day by taking in the city of Dublin before returning to the waiting arms of our hotel.