“From this perspective, one can say that much of contemporary developmental psychology is the study of the strange behavior of children in strange situations with strange adults for the shortest possible periods of time.“
(Bronfenbrenner, Urie 1977)
“…understanding human development requires more than the direct observation of the behavior of one or two people in the same place. It requires the study of multi-person systems of interaction that are not limited to a single setting and must consider aspects of the environment beyond the immediate situation in which the subject finds himself.“
(Bronfenbrenner, Urie 1977)
The idea for “Holidays for Families with (autistic) Children” arose from the realization that both autistic children and their parents suffer from high levels of stress.
However, since development can primarily occur in a relaxed state, it seemed logical to offer a way for the entire “family system” to relax.
That’s why, from 2017 to 2018, I offered vacations for families, especially those with autistic children, at the “Goldener Stern” in Oberwarmensteinach/Fichtelgebirge (the Solidar Hotel).
In the 18 months of operation, we hosted over 300 families with over 500 children (approximately 50 of whom were autistic).
This offered the opportunity to:
– many autistic children and young people across the spectrum
– as well as many children with disabilities
– each for a week (7 nights – always Sunday to Sunday)
– in a relaxed environment
– together with parents and siblings
– in social interaction with us and the other guests
– sometimes even during two stays with us
– and to be able to advise the parents at the same time.
This time offered the opportunity to marvel at the often astonishing developmental processes of many children, not just those with autism, within a relaxed atmosphere and through the opportunity for social interaction.
The relaxed atmosphere was primarily due to the fact that we only had families with children as guests, and the tolerance for the children’s peculiarities was therefore very high. Because guests always arrived on Sundays, there was no change among the guests during the week of their stay.
Many parents expressed their positive surprise at the progress their children had made in social, language, and motor skills during this one week of vacation.
Each week, we also offered the families the opportunity to visit a nearby dog training school run by a breeder. In addition to our own dog, Krishna, this is where they gained experience regarding the positive effects of dogs on autistic children.
The two years of building and operating the Solidar Hotel had left such a deep mark that I had to withdraw from the project for health reasons.
But the experiences of this time continue to have an impact today – not only confirming the underlying theory but also providing the basis for significant expansion.
Unfortunately, my successors were unable to successfully continue the project. What a pity.
