This summer, we are planning Fun Fridays! There will be two aspects to make Fridays special - a fun activity and a dress up day. The fun activities will vary but will include some "cooking", science activities, and just general fun outdoors.

The dress up days were a parent suggestion - similar to the type of spirit week activities you might see in a school! We'll keep them just on Fridays, and all are planned to use items you already have on hand. These should be fun for the kids, and will help them understand dress up days at school.

For June, these are the Fun Friday plans:

June 4th - School Spirit Day - wear a strive t shirt (we will provide prior to June 4th!) AND Frozen Jewels science activity (using water beads and ice)

June 11th- Wheels Day - no special dress up, but feel free to bring you own wheels - bike, trike, etc. and helmet. We'll have plenty of things to ride on at the center too, so don't worry if you can't bring yours!

June 18th - Pajama Day AND Reading Buddies. We'll take a blanket and some books outside, pair up with a buddy and read together!

June 25th - Beach Day - wear your sunglasses, shorts, hats, whatever makes you ready for the beach! AND Sink or Float science activity (another fun activity with water outside!)

We won't have a "cooking" activity until July, and we will let parents know our planned ingredients, so you can reach out if there are any diet or allergy concerns. As always, feel free to send a different treat if needed for your child to make that day special!

We were contacted via email regarding an opportunity for families of children with autism to participate in a research study out of the University of Kansas. This is a common practice for researchers, as it can be difficult to find enough families who meet their specific criterion without reaching out across the country.

There is no obligation for any of our families to participate, we simply wanted to pass on the information.

This is the information shared by the researchers, with the link to learn more:

“Parents of children between the age of 4 and 10 years with autism spectrum disorder and speaking less than 30 functional words are invited to participate in a study through the University of Kansas, focused on parenting stress and child communication skills. If interested in learning more or interested in participating, please fill this interest form: https://redcap.kumc.edu/surveys/?s=TKEWXAYRHM”

Congratulations to our two most recently certified Registered Behavior Technicians - Sherry and Courtney in Brighton!

As you know, Strive Center provides each of our ABA Therapists with an initial online training of forty hours, which is one of the components required to become a Registered Behavior Technician with the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). We also provide up to two weeks' worth of in person training onsite, not necessary for this credential, but essential for learning how to work with children.

After that, our therapists need to complete a competency assessment with their supervisor - they demonstrate their skills.

The final step is to take a certification exam with the BACB.

Insurance providers do not require that ABA Therapists obtain this additional certification, but at Strive, we are proud to require our therapists to follow through with this additional training and assessment to ensure the highest quality therapy for your children.

When you see Sherry and Courtney, be sure to congratulate them on their latest achievement! We're so proud of all their hard work.

Please remember to let your BCBA know if you have any plans to miss therapy during the summer. Summer is right around the corner! Both centers will be closed for therapy on the following dates this summer:

Monday, May 31 - Memorial Day

Friday, June 25 - Professional Development Day

Monday, July 5 - Independence Day

Friday, August 27 - Professional Development Day

We will add reminders to the newsletter as these dates approach, but just thought they'd be helpful for summer planning now.

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