Serving people with developmental disabilities and other cognitive impairments.

Milwaukee Center for Independence

Gateway to Adventure BWCA Winter Trip

Made possible by funding from the Porcupine Foundation

From February 8-11, 2010, clients and staff from the Milwaukee Center for Independence (MCI) participated in a skiing, snowshoeing and dogsledding adventure in Northern Minnesota.

Making Friends for the First Time

For several of the youth who participated, one of their biggest challenges is that they don't have any friends at school. They're primarily in "mainstreamed" programs, but socialization does not come easy for them and typical high school students don't reach out to them. This trip gave these young people the opportunity to feel like they belonged to a group - that they could contribute and be valued for those contributions. Many exchanged e-mail or phone information so they could continue their friendship after the trip--a new experience for many of these youth. All of them were also able to practice their social skills with the assistance of the Wilderness Inquiry staff. As summarized by MCI Director of LIFE Services, Nancy Pickett: “The welcoming and accepting environment made it much easier for our folks to meet and interact with people who they had just met. I've known some of our travelers for many years, and I've seen plenty of situations where they never initiate or reciprocate interactions with strangers - not true on this trip!"

Rediscovering a Passion for Skiing and Physical Activity

T., one of the young people who participated on this trip, rarely leaves the house and has very few outlets for leisure/recreation. On this trip, he chose to go on the all-day ski trip, and told our staff he knew how to ski.  Because of his general lack of activity, the staff privately wondered if he knew how to ski, but were excited to give it a try.  Later the staff found out that T.’s mother had taught him how to ski when he was younger, and that he used to do a lot of skiing - but he hadn't had the opportunity for nearly 10 years!  They discovered that he hadn't forgotten anything, and the rest of the group struggled to keep up with him.  MCI staff Director, Nancy Pickett, commented:  “It was great to see him enjoying himself and re-connecting with something from his past.  Since the trip, we assisted him in finding a skiing companion and he has been able to spend some weekend time out on the trails."

Learning to Have Positive Social Interactions

Trip participant A. has a non-verbal learning disability and attachment disorder.  Being in groups is very difficult for him and he really struggles with socialization (or lack of it) in high school.  A’s parents have sent him to "mainstreamed" camps and other youth opportunities, but they report he generally has a miserable time considers the experiences to be failures.  Nancy Pickett wrote this of T.'s experience on the Gateway to Adventure trip: "The ability of the Wilderness Inquiry staff to support A. as he struggled with meeting and interacting with new people was extremely important - and his learning to work with other group leaders (other than us) made this a valuable experience for him."

Finding Independence Through Interaction with Animals

K. also struggles with acceptance and socialization.  She has poor self-esteem, and has related self-injurious behaviors.  K.’s parents have recently separated, which has been difficult for her, and she is going through some medication changes, which have resulted in mood instability. The Milwaukee Center for Independence staff have known K. to present some challenges - negative attitude, complaining and whining, and immature emotional behavior.   They saw none of those behaviors during the Gateway trip. K. loves animals and so woke up early each morning to help feed the sled dogs. She stayed with them in the afternoons, long after feeding and sunset.  She helped every trip harness up and saw everyone off on their trip.  She was truly in her element.  Nancy Picket wrote:  “I appreciated that the Wilderness Inquiry staff encouraged participants to visit and interact with the dogs outside of scheduled times.  I was also pleasantly surprised that K. willingly signed up for activities that did not involve the dogs - and she appeared to have a fantastic time with everything she tried -even sleeping under the stars one night!"