When we talk about November, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Thanksgiving? Black Friday? Open enrollment for medical insurance? How about World Hello Day, which is coming up on Thursday, November 21? It’s a little known holiday, but one we especially like. Anyone can participate, and all you need to do is greet 10 people. This simple act of saying “hello” highlights the importance of communication and creates a connection. We hope you will join in.
Parent and Caregiver Socials
Speaking of connections, we’re often asked by our families if we know of any community groups in the area for parents and caregivers. We love fostering relationships and building community, so we’re thinking about starting one of our own. What do you think? We’d like to host a quarterly meet-up. We’d provide childcare for our clients and siblings, giving parents and caregivers a time to chat and snack. Let us know if you’d be interested by filling out a short paper survey (we have copies at the front desk). We’re looking forward to hearing what you have to say, and giving it a try early in the new year.
Therapy Group Highlights
In the coming weeks our current therapy groups, which started in September, will be winding down. They have been a whole lot of fun, and we plan to start new sessions of all of our groups in January. Here’s a bit of insight into what we’ve been up to.
Life Skills
According to Sarah, at the start of each Life Skills session, our clients took turns asking and answering questions related to the theme that week. This was a great opportunity to get to know each other better and practice turn-taking, communication breakdown repair, and conversational skills. While each week has been great, we are all looking forward to celebrating our last week by sharing a meal together out in the community!
Christina and Sarah are looking forward to starting this group again on Thursday, January 9. It will run for 8 weeks, from 5:15 to 6:15 pm. The focus of the next Life Skills group will be meal preparation, which will include shopping, following a recipe, kitchen safety, and enjoying a meal with friends.
The Project Squad aka Teamwork Group
Our social skills group for late elementary/early middle school students has worked hard on collaborating to make a comic book together. They enjoyed coming up with the characters (aliens), setting (Area 51 Highschool on Mars), and problem (defeating an evil robot sent by humans). According to Lori, the favorite group games this session have been Golden Statues and Poisonous Dart Frog. Lori and Christina are looking forward to having a comic book reading party and celebrating their hard work and creativity during their last session! The next Teamwork Group will start on Tuesday, January 21 from 5:15 to 6:15 pm, and meet on alternating weeks for six sessions.
Early Elementary Social Skills
Our social skills group for early elementary students has been working on whole body listening and reciprocal play/communication skills while focusing on a variety of projects. They have enjoyed interactive projects such as making smoothies, painting pumpkins, and completing science experiments together. This group’s favorite games have been Telephone and Animal Charades. The next Early Elementary group will start on Tuesday, January 14 from 5:15 to 6:15 pm, and meet on alternating weeks for six sessions.
If you have any questions about our groups or are interested in signing up, give us a call.
Thanksgiving
We have an all-ages Parents Morning Off event on Wednesday, November 27, which is filling up quickly. Let us know if you’d like to be added to our waiting list. Our office will be closed on Thursday, November 28 for Thanksgiving, and Friday, November 29. All of our appointments on those days will be canceled. Please let us know if you’d like to reschedule any visits that week.
We’re also feeling super thankful for the hard work and care our graduate students Jennifer and Caitlynn have brought to our clinic during their practicums this term.