It was announced this week that parents and caregivers of people with special needs are eligible beginning March 8th for the COVID-19 vaccine. We wanted to make our parents aware if you hadn't heard that news. You can find more info on that expansion here.

In Livingston County, this is the link to complete the Vaccine Interest form.

In Genesee County, this is the link to access the pre-registration form.

We have found that vaccines are difficult to come by in Livingston County so far. You may also be able to register through a local pharmacy, or a Meijer pharmacy if you are interested.

We have rolled out a streamlined daily health screening for families! We have moved our screening into an easy to use Google form that you can fill out daily. This will mean no more waiting while our screener moves from car to car. We have provided a QR code that you can scan to access the form, then you can bookmark it on your phone, or continue to use the code every day.

You MUST complete the screening prior to your child entering the building daily. If you have any trouble accessing it, or someone else is dropping off your child, we can help you in the morning. We can bring the QR code out to the car so you can complete it, or our staff will complete it for you. We will be checking to see your completed form before therapists come out to the car at 8:30, so if you have trouble with it, you can tell your therapist at 8:30 and we'll make sure you're all set.

We will continue to check temperatures, but we can do that just inside the door, so it will streamline your drop off time, and if by chance your child is running a surprise temperature, we'll call you back to the center within minutes.

You are welcome to fill out the form anytime in the morning, so you can complete it at home before you leave, or wait until you arrive. We expect this to make mornings a little easier on everyone and appreciate your continued support and compliance with keeping children home when they aren't feeling well.

If you haven't seen the code yet, don't worry - we will be providing paper copies to every family so you can keep it in your car, or on your fridge at home for easy access every day.

Beth has worked at the Strive Center for Autism since October 2019. Beth has a Bachelor of Science from Eastern Michigan University in mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Education.

She has over 30 years of teaching experience in the Howell Public School. Beth also previously worked as a Behavior Technician. She currently works as a Floating ABA Therapist in Brighton, so she's ready to cover for any therapist at a moment's notice, and she is a big help with anything we need in the mornings.

Beth’s biggest passion is her family. She enjoys photography, cross-stitching, skiing and traveling.

We've got two themes for the month of March - pets and spring!

In addition to the usual songs, art projects, books, and activities related to the themes, we'd like to invite families to share videos of their own pets.

If you have a pet at home, please take a short (no longer than 3 minute) video of your pet interacting with family members. You can upload the video to TheraWe, and we will share it with the kids at circle time. It should be a fun way for the kids to "meet" each other's pets. If a video's not a good option, just share a picture! We'd love to see your kids with their pets.

Another fun activity this month is that each child has the opportunity to "adopt" a stuffed cat or dog at the center. Kids will be practicing pet care while they keep their cat or dog at the center for the month of March. At the end of the month, the pets will come home.

Many parents have asked about spring break. Our centers don't observe a spring break, as the research shows that what makes ABA therapy most effective is the intensity and consistency of delivery. We do take a longer break between Christmas and New Year's, as families have told us over the years that they prefer to be off during that time. Other than that longer break, we try to take just long weekends here and there to allow families and staff a little extra time to celebrate around holidays, while maintaining the intensity and consistency of treatment.

We do understand that families like to take vacations throughout the year, and that is why our attendance policy has always allowed room for families to take those breaks on their own schedule, while providing us at least 2 weeks' notice so that we can adjust staffing.

The current CDC guidance on travel continues to recommend a quarantine period after traveling.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/after-travel-precautions.html

The current recommendation is to get a test within 3-5 days of your return, but to continue to quarantine for 7 days OR to quarantine for 10 days.

We do request that any families who choose to travel follow the CDC guidelines for quarantine after travel, as all our other children are considered an at-risk group.

With that in mind, we ask that families talk with their BCBA as soon as possible if they have spring travel plans, and understand that your travel plans will also mean your child misses up to 10 additional days of therapy.

We will continue to count absences, including vacations, and your BCBA will give you an absence report monthly. We request that families be mindful of the number of days your child is missing, as it directly affects the effectiveness of his therapy.

Every family is allowed 12 unexcused absences per year, which include last minute absences due to illness or other reasons, whether you call to report the absence or not.

There is not a specific number of excused absences allowed per year, which includes those absences you provide 2 week's notice for or are excused by a doctor's note. However, our policy does state that we reserve the right to end programming for a child with excessive absences. Your BCBA is reviewing the absences with you monthly so that you will know when your absences become excessive. We do not want to discontinue services, we want to work with you to provide as much high quality treatment as possible.

We are also working on scheduling some additional training for our newer staff members, so if families provide us enough notice of their plans to travel, that might make it possible for us to schedule training a little easier. Please just continue to talk with your BCBA, as we all have your child's best interests at heart.

Please check out the Autism Alliance of Michigan's (AAOM) 2021 Navigating Autism Today Conference. The conference is virtual and free, with a number of different sessions caregivers can attend. Strive Center for Autism is sponsoring the conference this year, and we hope that you will consider attending.

The conference is on Friday, March 19th so there's still time to register!

Find out more here: Autism Alliance of Michigan Navigating Autism Today Conference

Thank you to all of our families and staff who have completed the survey for the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (BHCOE) accreditation process! Your feedback is important to us and helps the BHCOE complete their audit.

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