Overnight Trips Give Students Opportunities to Practice New Skills

Uinta Academy finds great value in doing overnight trips and it’s not just the students participating in the excursions. Staff integration, part of the Teaching-Family Model, is a big part of these trips. Therapists, teachers, and direct care staff all participate in hopes of integrating with students and modeling pro-social behavior.

Historically, Uinta Academy students have participated in (2) three-night trips a year, but recent changes now have the young adults taking one three-night trip, and then all of the students participating in four shorter excursions. These trips include three days at Moab for the young adult and transition home students, then shorter trips for all students to destinations that include Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Idaho where they can visit museums, explore botanical gardens, go to Bear world, as well as do some hiking.

On our recent trip to Moab, students had the opportunity to generalize and practice their skills while experiencing Aches and Canyonlands National park. One of the highlights was a meditation hike with an unplanned detour to Sand Dune Arch for cover because of rain. This gave the students time to connect to what they were feeling as they listened to the rain and kept dry. After the hike, they shared their own thoughts about choosing to live life rather than taking the busted broken route, playing on the name of the original destination – Broken Arch.

These trips have given Uinta’s staff a better understanding of how each student is applying their new skills to the larger world around them. When they meet the students on their level, showing them respect and empathetic care, they are able to make more accomplishments in their treatment plan.