Weekly Update September 20, 2024

Strive Center for Autism is pleased to sponsor this year's Inclusive Trick or Treat at U of M Flint on Friday, October 25th, from 5:00-7:30. This event is a great time for all families to trick or treat in a safe and inclusive environment! We have hosted a table since the first year in 2019 and are looking forward to another great event! More info coming soon.

The organizers of Inclusive Trick or Treat are offering t-shirts for sale commemorating the event. The proceeds of the shirt sale help to support the event. Shirt purchase IS NOT REQUIRED to attend the event; the event is FREE for all families. If you would like to purchase a shirt, which has glow in the dark printing, see their shop here. Sales end September 30.

We will celebrate Halloween in both centers on October 31st. If your child has a costume he'd like to wear you can send it in that day. If your child is struggling to wear a costume, please talk to your BCBA and consider sending the costume in early so that we can help him practice wearing it. We also have costumes in the centers so if you don't prefer to send your own, that's fine.

Families do NOT need to send any candy or other items for the party, we will provide trick or treat items and all the activities. We will practice trick or treating throughout the month of October so all children can enjoy this activity if they want to! If you prefer your child not participate in the party or activities, please let your BCBA know.

We thought some of our kids might enjoy a fun pajama day the day after Halloween! So please wear your PJs to Strive on Friday, November 1st. We'll make it an extra fun Friday for everyone.

As many parents are aware, Leigh Harter Speech Services is currently unable to service our Burton location for speech and Occupational Therapy, and is only able to provide speech services in our Brighton location. We are working with Thrive Therapy Center, out of Davison and Clarkston, to get these services back in each location. If you know of a good therapist, tell them to apply here to work with us! We will keep you updated when we hear more. Thank you for your patience.

We will be moving our previously scheduled Professional Development day from October 11 to October 18. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please update your calendars.

Strive Center for Autism has a team for the zoo walk - and all are welcome to join! Signing up for the walk requires a $10 donation per person (children under 2 are free) and you get early entry to the zoo on September 21st. This fundraiser benefits Autism Alliance of Michigan and includes full-day admission to the Detroit Zoo, an autism resource fair with 50+ vendors, an on-stage program, a united community walk, arts & crafts, and entertainment for all ages. For more information, click here.

To join the Strive Center team, click here.

Hope to see you there!

We have had some staff move into new positions recently, and we will be putting staff bios in the newlsetter to help you get to know everyone. Here is just a quick list to help parents with figuring out who does what in our centers! This may help you with who to reach out to when you have a question!

Registered Behavior Technicians and ABA Therapists - These are the wonderful people who greet your child every morning and bring him back to you at the end of the day! All of our ABA Therapists become RBTs after an intensive 40 hour online training program, in addition to our in house 10 day training program, a competency assessment, and then a written assessment. Your RBT or ABA Therapist will answer your questions about your child's day - like how his lunch or snack went, if he had any issues with toileting, what he enjoyed the most, and what his newest accomplishment is.

Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) - These clinicians complete assessments with children, write their treatment plans, and meet with you regularly to discuss your child's progress and help you with any challenges at home. Our current BCBA staff includes Jessica, Evey, and Emily and will include Danielle in October (we'll share more about Danielle when she joins the team!) Your BCBA will answer all your long term questions about treatment planning, transitions to school, challenging behavior and your child's overall progress.

Lead Therapists - We have one Lead Therapist in each building, Greta in Burton, and Courtney in Brighton. These are more experienced RBTs who take on a leadership role, supporting our RBTs, filling in anywhere they might be needed, making sure that the children's schedules and curriculum are all prepared so that the days run smoothly. You'll see the Lead Therapist most often when your therapist is absent, they will fill in and work with your child. They may also send you notes or permission slips for upcoming events and can answer questions about those events.

Office Managers - We have one Office Manager in each building, Taylor in Brighton (subbing in for Katie who is on leave) and Erin in Burton. Erin is planning to make a change and move into an RBT role again in the near future, so we will have the role of Office Manager in Burton available again. We will let you know as soon as we have selected a new Office Manager here! The Office Manager is the person who handles all the paperwork - so she'll take any paperwork from you and make sure we have what we need. She will also call you if your child is absent and we haven't heard from you, or if your child becomes ill or needs something while at the center.

Executive Director - We have one Executive Director who oversees general operations across both buildings, Amy Hund. Amy is also a BCBA and has supported our teams to cover 2 maternity leaves this year, one in each building! When she's not covering a leave, Amy goes to both buildings each wee to ensure that our operations are up to Strive standards, and to support the teams any way they may need. If you have a concern that hasn't been addressed by your BCBA, you are welcome to reach out to Amy at any time via phone at 810-344-8082 ext. 700 or email at ahund@sc-centers.com

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, our DEI Committee found this site with fun craft ideas you can try at home. Enjoy!

Our center received this information from U of M Flint, and wanted to share the info with our families. All families will receive a printed flyer sent home with their child.

We are reaching out to invite you to participate in a research project led by UM-Flint Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy, Dr. Donna Case. If you are a parent of a child with disabilities or a person who works with children with disabilities, please see the flyer attached and consider participating. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Dr. Case at casedon@umich.edu.

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 upcoming dates that the centers will be closed:

Friday, October 18th - BOTH CENTERS CLOSED for Professional Development Day

Wednesday - Friday, November 27-29 - BOTH CENTERS CLOSED for Thanksgiving

Monday, December 23rd - Friday, January 3rd - BOTH CENTERS CLOSED for Holiday Break

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