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by Queens novice member Aleeyah Marrero 

On Sunday, April 26, Row New York’s novice and varsity athletes participated in the Ramapo for Children 8th Annual Youth Worker Leadership Conference at Pace University. Ramapo works on behalf of children who face obstacles to learning, including children with special needs, and enable them to succeed in the classroom, at home, and in life. Ramapo helps young people learn to align their behaviors with their aspirations, feel valued, and experience success.

Row New York athletes had the privilege of participating in three workshops of their choice. In each, we learned different skills for working with autistic children. I participated in three amazing workshops: “Career Alliance”, “Improvisation for Laughter and Learning”, and “It’s Showtime! Performing Arts with Children and Special Needs”.

The “Career Alliance” workshop taught three types of therapies: wilderness, recreational, and outdoor therapy, which all provide different ways to have fun and make a positive change in a child’s life. Wilderness therapy is a form of adventure-based therapy, which aims to guide participants toward self reliance through physically demanding challenges. Recreational therapy includes arts and crafts, drama, music, dance, sports, games, and community field trips to help maintain or improve a child’s physical, social, and emotional well-being. Lastly, outdoor education involves residential or journey wilderness-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges.

The “Improvisation for Laughter and Learning” workshop included engaging games and activities for all ages such as Crazy 8’s, Go-Stop-Clap-Hooray, Yes and Walk, Ad Game, and Crisis Situation. These comedic games help kids at the risk of being pushed to the margins develop social and emotional skills in life.

Ramapo’s “It’s Showtime! Performing Arts with Children and Special Needs” workshop included many physical activities that help kids become more comfortable with those who are in their environment. These activities allowed us to see a new part of a child while their social skills expand more with others in their community.

Spending a Sunday afternoon with my Manhattan and Queens teammates, while learning so many new skills for working with autistic children, was a blast! I am so excited and feel ready to work with these bright-minded participants this summer in Row New York’s Summer Leaders Program. I truly recommend this experience to anyone in the future!

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