Weekly Update - January 27, 2023

We finally got our first real taste of snow this week! We hated to close and lose those therapy days, but we appreciate your understanding of the decision to close. Our kids definitely seemed ready to play when they returned this morning!

Remember that you will receive a Remind message when we are closed, and we do update our Facebook page as well. If you did not receive the message on Wednesday or Thursday this week, please speak to your BCBA and we will be sure to help fix that before the next snowstorm!

For 2023, instead of just sharing our background info, we are going to share some of our team's answers to a recent survey. We asked staff what they enjoy most about their jobs overall, what they like to teach the most, and what they would tell other people considering working here. We'll share answers from a new staff member each week!

This week, we'll hear from Courtney, one of our amazing RBTs in Brighton (it just happens to be her birthday today, too!)

When we asked Courtney what her favorite skill to teach is, she answered, "I like teaching life skills to help aid independence. LRFFC is probably my favorite DTT."

*See below for a definition of LRFFC and DTT* Courtney was pretty technical in her response!

Courtney said her favorite part of working for Strive as a company is "I know that if I need anything whether it be a question answered, materials needed, or even time off, I’m always supported by the staff."

What is Courtney's proudest moment at Strive so far? "Strive was a career change so getting my RBT was big for me :)"

(RBT = Registered Behavior Technician credential, we'll define that one in an upcoming newsletter!)

One addition to our newsletter this year will be some definitions of terms we use most often in ABA. We know we use a lot of lingo and we want to help families understand it better. All of these terms will also be on our website in a glossary, so you can check them out anytime.

Today's first term is LRFFC (Learner Responding by Feature, Function, and Class). LRFFC refers to skills that we teach children often using DTT (see below) to identify items by their features, function, or class.

LRFFC is a term that is used in one of the assessments we prefer, the VB-MAPP (Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program) and the term is derived from B.F. Skinner's analysis of Verbal Behavior (although it is not one of the verbal operants as defined by Skinner.)

Why do we teach LRFFC? You can think of it as expanding your child's general knowledge or vocabulary around familiar items. For example, a child may be able to pick up his shoes when you say the word "shoes." That is certainly a useful skill. But we often want children to know more than just the names of items.

To identify a shoe by one of its features, a child should be able to find the shoe when he hears, "Where's the one that has laces?"

To identify a shoe by its function, a child should be able to find the shoe when he hears, "Where's the one that you wear on your feet?"

Finally, to identify a shoe by its class (or category), a child should be able to find the shoe when he hears, "Can you find the clothing?"

That may seem like a lot of details to teach, but we often find that children with Autism don't pick up on these details through natural daily interaction, and it becomes necessary to teach things to this level.

And for a bonus, our second term is Discrete Trial Training (DTT.) DTT is a type of teaching where a skill is broken down into smaller steps that are taught in a structured way. There is a specific opportunity for the child to respond and a specific response is expected and is reinforced.

For the most part at our center, DTT is most clearly seen when your child is working at his individual table with his therapist. The LRFFC skills above would be taught using this method - your child's treatment plan will list the exact item he's learning about (maybe the features of a car) and the therapist may place a number of items or pictures on the table and ask, "Which one has wheels?" That's the specific opportunity to respond. The response expected is that your child indicates the picture of or the actual toy car. And when he does this, the therapist is going to give him praise "Great job, cars have wheels!" and perhaps a tangible reinforcer, like blowing some bubbles or playing with a toy.

We'll just keep this link right here, for your convenience. For any absences scheduled in advance, please use this form to report the dates. You may take an entire day or half day, depending on your needs.

Therapy Schedule Update Form

Here are some additional dates that the centers will be closed:

Friday, February 17th BRIGHTON CENTER ONLY closed for crisis management training for staff

Friday, March 10th BOTH CENTERS CLOSED for staff Professional Development day

If your family is planning a longer absence around one of those dates, or at another time, please let us know as soon as you are able!

Email: info@sc-centers.com
Website: www.sc-centers.com
Location: Burton and Brighton, MI
Phone: 810-344-8082