Please make sure that your child waits in your car in the morning until his therapist comes to bring him inside. You may have him unbuckled before we come to the car, but he needs to stay in the car. When children get out of the car early, it is harder to respect social distancing between the families, and there is a greater potential of injury for the children.

We understand that kids don't like to wait long in the car, and families are trying to time their arrival just right to be on time, without a long wait in the car. Our therapists are not available until the scheduled start time for therapy, as they do have prep work to complete. If you find yourself waiting in the car and your child is struggling, here are a few suggestions to keep him busy:

• Keep a small bag of toys just for the car - these toys are only played with in the car, and you could rotate them every now and again. Think of things that won't be too distracting for the driver, but the child can enjoy on his own - things that don't have multiple pieces that might get lost. This is a good spot for slinkys or other fidgets, action figures, dollar store treasures, or happy meal toys.
• Play his favorite music in the car. Make the whole car ride a sing a long, or just turn on that #1 tune when you're in the parking lot.
• Dry erase activity books are good for the car, if you have a child who likes those activities. You can purchase ones with themes, or print some free activity pages from the internet and put them in page protectors in a binder - those can be wiped off over and over. Yes, some kids will make a mess in your car with markers, but dry erase does clean up a little easier, and if you know your kid will make the mess, ignore this idea!
• Bring his favorite book to read in the car, and make those few waiting minutes a time for a little reading. Maybe keep a small bag of books in the car.
• Go ahead and use technology - turn on a video on Youtube of his favorite book on your phone once you've parked. You don't have to give him a device for the entire ride, but it's ok to use this to help you both through a few minutes.
• Make a little sensory bag for on the go - put a small amount of slime inside a sealed ziploc bag. Put this inside another sealed ziploc bag and add some clear packaging tape over the seal. Kids can squeeze the slime through the bag.

If you struggle in the car during this time because your child can unbuckle himself and is trying to get out of the car, please reach out to your BCBA. We can help teach him how to sit patiently in the car, and provide you with specific ideas to keep your child safe while he learns this new skill.

Don't worry that your fun car activities will be too much fun, and your child won't want to leave the car to come to therapy. We can bring their favorite toys out to greet them, and our therapists are always happy to remind your child of the fun day he's about to have!

The last year has certainly been a season of change in many ways. That continues for our Strive family with one more transition. Please help us wish a fond farewell to Rebecca Cowell at the end of January and a warm welcome home to Evey Sobczak at the same time.

Rebecca has served our families in Brighton lovingly since 2016, and has decided to make a change in her career. She has spoken to all of our Brighton families, and we know she will be missed by families and staff alike.

You may remember that we recently said good-bye to Evey as she pursued a position that would utilize her BCBA skills more fully, after having worked with us for over a year in Burton, as our Lead Therapist, and more recently as a Family Training Coordinator. We are looking forward to welcoming Evey back as the BCBA in our Brighton location.

Our director, Amy Hund, has been involved in the cases in Brighton since our return to therapy in June, as we had a BCBA student in Brighton, and then to support Rebecca as the sole BCBA. You will continue to see and hear from Amy in Brighton as Evey transitions into her new role. Amy will be onsite in Brighton several days per week to support Evey, and Rebecca will have several days with Evey prior to her departure, in order to to make the transition as smooth as possible. Please reach out if you have any questions regarding the transition, and know that the top priority for all of us is your child's therapy.

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