Spring is here, and we are planning our regular 3 month therapist switch in April. For some families, your child will be working with someone you may not have worked with before, for some, it will be a return to an old friend. Please keep in mind that switching therapists is important for your children for several reasons:

• It allows generalization of skills, to ensure that your child can respond to any teacher
• It helps to reinforce flexibility and a positive response to changes
• It gives your child a fun and different perspective, with a new person to play with

As parents, the most important thing you can do is say positive things about your child's therapist in front of him - "Look - it's Jill! You're going to have so much fun with her this morning!" or "It sounds like you had a great time with Sue this afternoon!"

We have been adding profiles of our therapists to the newsletters and to our Facebook page, in the hopes that you'll feel like you're getting to know our therapists a little better. You can also pull up those profiles and pictures to show your child who he's going to work with on a given day, or talk about what he did with her earlier that day.

Switching therapists is an important step in preparing your child for school and other settings, and we thank you for your support.

Along with the therapist switch, you'll hear a lot about pairing. Basically, pairing is the process of providing lots of fun reinforcers (things your child likes) and making sure they are delivered by or paired with the new therapist. Over time, this process makes the new therapist into a reinforcer - so your will like his therapist, and he will be more likely to do what the therapist asks of him.

You'll see a greater emphasis on pairing during this first week, but it's also important to understand that pairing is a process, and it's never finished. No matter how long a therapist and child have been working together, we recommend starting and ending every session with pairing. It keeps that relationship fresh, and reminds the child that we are a lot of fun.

For a quick, slightly technical, but not too technical overview of pairing, check out this video from Cornerstone Autism Center.

Evelyn (Evey) earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Oakland University. She earned her master's degree from Oakland University's Special Education Program with an emphasis in Autism. She then returned to Oakland University to receive an endorsement in Applied Behavior Analysis.

She began her career as a special education teacher in the public school setting in a classroom for children with autism for 4 years. Inspired by the principles of applied behavior analysis, Evey began studying ABA. This led her to work in a clinical setting at Strive Center for Autism as Registered Behavior Technician while completing her coursework. She progressed to being a Lead Technician for Strive Center for Autism before becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Evey is currently a BCBA at Strive Center for Autism’s Brighton location. Evey is a Licensed Behavior Analyst and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

We have had so much fun during March with our pets! We've learned about what our pets need, and how to take good care of them.

In April, our theme is Pond Life. We'll talk about what a pond is, and the animals and insects that live near a pond. Many of our children planted seeds during March's dramatic play, and we'll continue to plant more in April and watch them grow into May. We'll learn about what seeds are and see how they change into plants.

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