Interview With
Summer at CIP
The College Internship Program (CIP) was founded in 1984 to help young people with Asperger’s, ADHD and other Learning Differences make successful transitions from adolescence to young adulthood. Summer@CIP was started in 2009 at the University of California Berkeley and has grown each year to our current offerings of 6 high school summer programs and 1 beyond high school program.
Summer@CIP High School Summer Programs are held on 6 highly rated college campuses across the country, University of California Berkeley, Indiana University Bloomington, Florida Institute of Technology, Westfield State University, University at Buffalo and California State University Dominguez Hills. The Beyond High School program is being piloted this year in Melbourne Florida with plans to expand to 5 additional locations for the summer of 2014.
CIP’s philosophy is to inspire independence and expand the foundation on which young adults with Asperger’s, ADHD and other Learning Differences can build happy and productive lives and that everyone is made for good purpose and is inherently valuable.
The CIP Summer Program focuses on all of the non-academic components involved in being successful after high school. Students have the opportunity to learn practice skills in the areas of social development, executive functioning, wellness and independent living. The program has a very social focus and helps students get more comfortable with social skills in a college environment.
Students will participate in daily curriculum related to the non-academic components of college. Students will practice daily independent living functions including following a schedule. Larger social activities take place nearly every day and include amusement parks, museums, ropes course or rock climbing, and zoos and aquariums as well as location specific activities (ex: Buffalo NY: Niagara Falls, Berkeley, CA: Alcatraz, Westfield, MA: Trips to Boston) In the evenings students play board games, go to movies, bowling, laser tag and mini golfing.
Both the Beyond High School and High School Summer Programs are just short of 2 weeks long and cost $4,300. Tuition includes housing, all meals and activities as well as 1 college credit issued from an accredited college which is transferrable to most colleges and universities. $300 is given back to the students at each program to help them with handling money, paying for meals out and some budgeting skills.
Each program currently accepts a maximum of 12 students and has 2 staff members on duty 24 hours a day. The staff for the Summer@CIP primarily come from CIP’s full time, year round staff. In cases where additional staff are needed, graduate students in related fields are recruited to work with our students.
Summer@CIP is a confidence building experience for students with Asperger’s, ADHD and other Learning Differences, students are given the opportunity to experience independence and have fun with peers who have similar strengths and areas for growth. Summer@CIP can also help parents to understand what skill areas their student needs more work before independent living as well as what areas the student successful handled independently during the two weeks.
The early application deadline just passed, March 31st, Applications are continuing to be accepted until the space at each program is filled.
Parents have let us know that CIP’s Summer Program was a great opportunity for their son or daughter to experience living away from home. They have written to tell us how their teenager had a great experience and developed new friendships while building a greater sense of self confidence. Parents are grateful for this opportunity for their teens to learn what college might be like in a safe, supportive environment.
I suggest calling 877-566-9247 as soon as possible as space is very limited for our programs
