The purpose of this capstone project was to create a program for community members, foster families, and adoptive families. In this project, community members was defined as any professional that works with foster and adoptive families in the community or in their profession. This included school staff, school administrators, therapists, and day care or respite providers.
The goal of this program was to use play to build stronger family bonds and relationships while also supporting the development of children in foster care and adopted children. By providing this program as a tool that can be used by families and community members, this can help bridge the gap and inconsistencies with current trainings and programming.
Turning Everyday Activities into Play affirmed that play can be a powerful tool especially when working with foster and adoptive youth who have been exposed to trauma at a young age. This program provided information on some of the effects of childhood trauma while providing specific strategies to help support self-regulation, child development, and foster the connection between adult and child
