Weekly Update September 29, 2023

Just a friendly reminder that kids can be messy! And because they can be messy, we do ask that each child have 2 full changes of clothes (including socks) kept at the center. We know that 2 changes of clothes may seem like a lot, but please remember that we eat two snacks and lunch daily, and we have a craft every day too, in addition to all the regular messy things that kids sometimes get up to.

Since the weather has gotten colder, we will sort through any clothes you have sent in, and send home anything better suited to summer weather. We will let you know if we need additional items sent in.

We also ask that all clothing that comes into the center be labeled with your child's name or initials. If you send something in that is not labeled, we will put first name or initials on the tag.

We do keep some extra clothes on hand at each center, so if your child comes home in something unfamiliar, please check the tag - we label ours with "Strive." If you are able to launder those and return them, that's great - if not, just return them dirty and we'll wash them, simply let your therapist know.

The Tree of Possibilities is more than just a logo at Strive Center! We celebrate all the little victories - for every new skill a child learns, we give him a leaf or an apple sticker to put on his very own Tree of Possibilities poster. We keep one poster here at the center, next to his table, and one goes home, so families can celebrate all the little victories too. In August, our learners acquired 223 new skills, which brings our total for 2023 to 1,611 new skills! Just a few more months to see what our grand total for the year is!

We have adjusted our calendar slightly for our Holiday Break in December - we will have a break from Wednesday, December 20th to Tuesday, January 2nd. We will return for therapy on Wednesday, January 3rd, not on January 2nd as previously listed on the calendar.

Congratulations to Lily - she passed her exam to become a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) this week! We require all of our therapists to complete the required 40 hours of training, then a competency assessment with our BCBA, and finally the written exam to become an RBT. That certification ensures that our staff have gone above and beyond to learn about Applied Behavior Analysis.

If you see Lily, be sure to congratulate her!

UM-Flint's Inclusive Halloween 2023

Friday, October 27, 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

UM-Flint Harding Mott University Center

400 Mill Street, Flint, MI 48503

This is a very fun event for all families - there's trick or treating, sensory activities, food, and so much more! We have hosted a table at this event each year and it is definitely one you don't want to miss.

Registration is required but the event is completely FREE and so much fun!

To register as a participant: go.umflint.edu/InclusiveHalloween2023

Please see attachment below for more info.

They also need lots of volunteers to make this event happen; please share the link below if you know anyone who might like to volunteer. You'll see plenty of Strive staff there for sure!

To register as a volunteer: go.umflint.edu/InclusiveHalloween2023Volunteer

We will celebrate Halloween with a party on Tuesday, October 31st during our regular therapy session. Parents do NOT need to bring anything - we will provide treats and activities that all of our children can enjoy, including appropriate edible treats. Children are welcome to dress up in their costumes for the party, so please feel free to send that in if you'd like.

Some children with Autism struggle with costumes - the fabrics or wearing multiple layers, masks, or unusual accessories. We are happy to help your child get more comfortable with his costume if you send it in early. We can practice wearing it and we will practice trick or treating in October. Please talk to your BCBA if you need help with planning for Halloween and consider attending the Inclusive Trick or Treat event above - there is no requirement to dress up and the entire event is inclusive of people with different needs, so it's a great way to experience Halloween with the whole family.

We have made a pretty extensive glossary of ABA terms over the course of 2023, and we are going to use this last part of the year to describe in more detail what happens at a particular group or activity in the center. We thought this would be a good way to help parents be more familiar with the activities we do every day and the reasons we do them.

We'll begin with Circle Time. We have circle time in our centers in the morning, not the very first activity of the day but within the first hour. Circle time is very common in preschool and early elementary classrooms, and it is a nice routine to start the day. It gives kids an opportunity to check in with their teacher and each other, it gives teachers an opportunity to communicate information about the day or other topics.

In our circle time, we begin with a "hello" song. We change our hello song at least four times per year. We will be using this hello song starting in October and through the end of the year. We change our songs periodically in order to prevent rigid behavior regarding the songs (i.e. insisting that we MUST play the same song no matter what) and so that the kids get to learn new songs.

After our hello song, we typically do a calendar check in. We'll talk through today's date and any special activities that we might have coming up on our calendar, like birthdays or holidays. We often use the song for the current month by Jack Hartman. Our kids love Jack Hartman's videos!

We usually check in on the weather for the day too. We'll sing a little song about checking the weather and one of the kids will look out the window and tell us what they think it looks like - we keep it pretty simple for choices: sunny, cloudy, raining, or snowing, for example. These are great things for you to talk about with your child in the car on the way to therapy.

We usually take a part of our circle time for an activity related to our month's theme. For October, we have a couple of themes: leaves, pumpkins, and of course, Halloween! We might enjoy a video of a short song related to the theme, like this favorite for October. Or we might read a book related to the theme.

What skills do we work on at circle time? There are a lot of skills to be learned from a small group like this, including:

• How to sit next to a peer quietly and keep your hands to yourselves
• How to listen to one teacher leading the group (our therapists are close by, ready to help, but we encourage independence at all of our groups)
• How and when to raise your hand in a group (when is just as important as actually raising your hand)
• Taking turns with volunteering and tolerating when it's not your turn (sometimes a child only wants to volunteer for one activity every day and it can be hard to learn to tolerate someone else having a turn)
• Following group directions from one teacher ("Everybody stand up!" can be hard for our kids to understand who is supposed to stand up)
• Following individual directions from one teacher while in a group (it is easier to listen to an adult when you're 1:1)

If you're interested in seeing your child participate in circle time, talk to your BCBA. We can arrange for your observation to take place during circle time.

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 27th - PD Day

Wednesday - Friday, November 22-24 - Thanksgiving

Wednesday, December 20 - Tuesday, January 2nd - Holiday Break - Returning on Wednesday, January 3rd

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