Weekly Update December 6, 2024

If you did not receive the message that our centers were closed yesterday, please follow the links below to join our Remind classes. That way you will get a message anytime we are closed or have other special information to share.

Any caregivers are welcome to join our Remind class, so feel free to sign up grandparents, aunts, uncles, or babysitters who might need the info.

For our Brighton families, follow this link to sign up.

For our Burton families, follow this link to sign up.

Strive Center does NOT close with any particular school district, but we do monitor all local districts when deciding to close.

The following guidelines will be used to make a decision to close due to weather:

● Because our families transport their children, the Strive Center may not close due to cold temperatures.

● A decision to close will be made by 6:00am and posted on www.remind.com.

● The Strive Center will close when driving conditions in and around Brighton or Burton are noted to be dangerous.

● Please note that locations close individually; one center may be closed while the other is open.

Families will not be charged for any closures. Also, if Strive Center remains open but your family is uncomfortable with driving in, please just call our attendance line and let us know. We realize families drive from a variety of different areas, and conditions in your area may be worse.

Just a friendly reminder that it is chilly outside. We take the children outside two times daily for recess on our playgrounds, and it is time to start sending warm coats and gloves. When it snows, we will go outside too, so please plan to send boots and snow pants. If a child does not have warm enough gear, we will keep the child indoors, but the others will go outside. We believe that getting outside and getting fresh air daily is good for all of us, so we really want all the children to be able to participate.

We remain indoors when the temperature feels like 20° or below.

The Global Autism Parenting Summit is free and online December 9-11.

It's three days, with more than 25 speakers, and did we mention it's free?

Click here to find out more and register!

Amy began working at Strive when we first opened our doors in Brighton, in 2015. She earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Central Michigan University and earned her master's degree from Western Michigan University's highly acclaimed Applied Behavior Analysis program, studying under Dr. Richard Malott.

She has served as the lead psychologist for a residential neurobehavioral and medically complex children’s unit, and has served as the director for several Applied Behavior Analysis programs serving children with Autism in schools, homes, and clinical settings in southeast Michigan.

When she's not working, Amy enjoys crafts including cross stitch, reading all sorts of books, and painting her nails. She also likes to travel and is a big fan of Elvis Presley.

Many parents may not be aware of our social media, and we'd love for you to follow us! We share tips and tricks for families, staff birthdays and work anniversaries, and other info.

Follow us here on Facebook or Instagram

2025 Calendars are available now! There is a slight difference in the 2 buildings, so be sure to click on the calendar for the building your child attends.

Thrive Therapy Center will begin providing Occupational Therapy (OT) services in our Burton location soon! The therapist has been hired, and will spend the next few weeks training and preparing to provide services in Burton.

We ask that all Burton families complete this breif survey to let us know if they are interested in OT services for their child. Thrive will provide an evaluation prior to beginning services to determine your child's eligibility for services and appropriate goals.

Thrive is continuing to look for a speech therapist to service Burton as well, so if you know of a good therapist, tell them to apply here to work with us!

Thank you for your patience - we are so excited to begin seeing OT services for our children again!

With the holidays fast approaching, here are a few tips that we hope will de-stress the season a bit for you!

· Prepare! Help your child understand when different things are going to take place – use a calendar to count down days until a big visit, or use a visual schedule for the special day – we’re happy to help you design something.

· Decorate! Some children find decorations disruptive. Be sure to engage your child in decorating as much as possible, and be clear about the rules for decorations – if you have some that can’t be touched, tell your child clearly and consistently. We can provide visual supports to indicate things that can’t be touched. We will decorate at the center (as we always do!) but everything here can be touched and enjoyed by the children. We will help practice with your child if you need him to learn to keep his hands off.

· Take a break! Teach your child to ask for a break when things get overwhelming, and make sure that at any get together, there’s a quiet, calm place for your child to go. At home, it can simply be his bedroom, if you’re visiting family, ask ahead if there’s a bedroom or small space that can be kept quiet for your child. Let other family members know that when he’s in this space, he should be left alone, and family should try to keep noise to a minimum. If your child can’t yet ask for a break, gently direct him to this space when he appears overwhelmed.

· Travel with his favorites! If you’re traveling, make sure you bring favorite toys, comfort objects, and foods. A little familiarity can go a long way to ease stress.

· Share pictures of the family! Prepare a photo album of all the relatives that you expect to see over the holidays – send it in to therapy, and we’ll be happy to show your child the pictures, and remind him who he’ll be seeing. If you email the pictures to your BCBA, we can print them and keep them here – just let us know what your child calls each person.

· Prepare your family members! If you’ll be seeing people you don’t see often, let them know what your child responds well to, and what he doesn’t like. Let them know what questions he’s likely to answer, and what he struggles with. Let them know what games and toys he likes, so the kids can all play together.

· Let us know what we can do to help! Tell us what you’ve struggled with in holidays past, and we’ll be happy to help you make a plan for this year, or teach skills that will help. We can work on opening presents, taking turns, and vocabulary related to the holidays your family celebrates.

· Relax and enjoy! Don’t over-schedule your family this year – sometimes just a small get together with a few family members is the best for everyone. Use this time to reflect on all the changes in your child and your family over this past year. Give yourself a giant pat on the back for bringing your child to therapy and committing to his progress.

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:

Monday, December 23rd - Friday, January 3rd - BOTH CENTERS CLOSED for Holiday Break
Monday, January 20th - CLOSED for MLK, Jr Day

Monday, February 17th - BRIGHTON ONLY CLOSED for Professional Development Day

Friday, March 21st - BOTH CENTERS CLOSED for 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