Five-Year Anniversary of Lighthouse Autism Center

In May of 2012, Lighthouse Autism Center opened its doors to its first family. With just one center, a handful of staff, and four kids, the center started with humble beginnings. “We knew what it was like to raise a child with autism and wanted to provide support and services to other families. We wanted them to know they weren’t alone in this,” said Gregg Maggioli, founder of Lighthouse.

It didn’t take long for momentum to pick up. In the first year, Lighthouse Autism Center in Mishawaka grew, accepting more children and hiring more therapists. Soon it was clear there needed to be more than one center to meet the incredible need for ABA services in Northern Indiana.

In three years, Lighthouse opened three more centers – a Warsaw location in August of 2013, a Mishawaka location in April of 2014, and a Plymouth location in August of 2015. Today, Lighthouse employs over 100 people and serves over 70 families in Northern Indiana.

As Lighthouse celebrates their 5-year anniversary, they continue their mission of bringing quality, center-based ABA services to communities that are in need. “We also look forward to seeking more ways to bring our  services to families in other communities,” said Gregg.

To learn more about Lighthouse Autism Center or take a tour of one of our centers, visit www.lighthouseautismcenter.com or call our Outreach Coordinator at 574-387-4313.

For three years in a row, the Lighthouse Families First Foundation has partnered with Hockey 4 Life to bring autism awareness to the local community and help families in need.

Hockey 4 Life, a non-profit organization of civic-minded hockey enthusiasts, seeks to raise funds for local organizations through an annual hockey tournament, raffles, and silent auctions. We sponsor the event by providing scorekeepers for each game at the tournament while also sharing information about autism to participants and spectators.

In our three years together, hockey 4 Life has donated nearly $7,000 to the Lighthouse Families First Foundation! Their generous support helps LFFF provide scholarships for children in need of ABA services, gas cards for families to take their children to medical appointments, iPads and communication software for nonverbal children, and anything else useful for a family with special needs.

We are so thankful to Hockey 4 Life for their partnership, compassion and generosity. They help us to make a positive difference in the autism community. If you’d like to learn more about Lighthouse Families First Foundation or apply for a grant, please visit https://magfund.org/

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and here at Lighthouse Autism Center we are already focused on how we’ll give back to our families, employees, and community.

Families:

In November, we will host our biannual “Parent’s Day Out” where Lighthouse Autism Center remains open on Saturday with staff who volunteer to give their time to our families. Parents are invited to drop off all of their children – and not just those who attend our center – and take the evening to do some holiday shopping, go to a movie, or simply relax. As a parent of a child with autism, I know how welcome and appreciated this is by our families.

Employees:

Employees will have the opportunity to participate in an all-staff Christmas Party at the Oaks. This allows employees from all of our centers to come together and enjoy a potluck dinner, music, games and prizes. After a year of hard work and dedication to our center and the children we serve, it’s our goal to recognize our employees and show them how appreciated they truly are.

Community:

Finally, we feel it is important to give back to our local community during the holiday season. We will continue our tradition of adopting several families in need and providing gifts and essentials for them through what we call our “Giving Tree.” Employees and families at all centers come together to purchase clothing, food, household items, toiletries, toys and gifts. We wrap and deliver these items to our adopted families in an effort to give back to those less fortunate.

Lighthouse Autism Center Weather & Emergency Closing

In order to best support our families, at Lighthouse Autism Center, we believe that being open allows our parents who must go to work is truly putting our children and their families first. We also do not close for weather related reasons on the same schedule as the local schools, as we do not have the concerns of children waiting for buses, walking to school, etc.

We also realize that all Lighthouse Autism Center facilities feel the effects of inclement weather differently, based on locations weather differently, based on location, so we developed the following guidelines for weather related closings at each autism center.

If your building is closed, you will receive an automatic text message and email from our system by 6:30 a.m. that morning. All closings and delays will also be posted to the Lighthouse Autism Center Facebook page and website.

Do not rely on the local news for alerts of our autism center closings and delays.

Previous closing memo example:

Lighthouse Autism Center will be closed Friday January 9th due to weather.

Stay Warm!!!

Lighthouse Autism Center Weather & Emergency Closing

In order to best support our families, at Lighthouse Autism Center, we believe that being open allows our parents who must go to work is truly putting our children and their families first. We also do not close for weather related reasons on the same schedule as the local schools, as we do not have the concerns of children waiting for buses, walking to school, etc.

We also realize that all Lighthouse Autism Center facilities feel the effects of inclement weather differently, based on locations weather differently, based on location, so we developed the following guidelines for weather related closings at each autism center.

If your building is closed, you will receive an automatic text message and email from our system by 6:30 a.m. that morning. All closings and delays will also be posted to the Lighthouse Autism Center Facebook page and website.

Do not rely on the local news for alerts of our autism center closings and delays.

Previous closing memo example:

There is no weather delay this morning for Lighthouse Autism Center – Mishawaka.

Please use you best judgement if you are driving from areas that are impacted by the weather.

If there is one thing at Lighthouse that we are most proud of it is our continued effort to reach further to ensure that we are constantly and consistently providing the best therapy to our kids, we are excited to announce our partnership with Western Michigan University’s graduate program in behavior analysis.

The reason we decided to work with Western Michigan University is because they are known worldwide as one of the best ABA universities producing world class practitioners. Again, this allows us to be confident in our pursuit of helping each child achieve his or her fullest potential.

We are working closely with Dr. Richard Malott, a professor of psychology and member of the behavior analysis faculty at WMU. Dr. Malott is considered a leader in the field of ABA. He has won 2 Fulbright Senior Scholar Awards as well as the ABAI’s Award for Public Service in Behavior Analysis. His active involvement in the Association for Behavior Analysis International ensures that he stays in touch with ABA best practices. Dr. Malott is also responsible for developing the Behavior Analysis Training System at WMU. The BATS system is considered one of the most prominent ABA graduate programs in the United States and we are thankful to consider him part of our team.

If you have any questions about WMU, Dr. Malott or how Lighthouse can help you please give us a call. We will continue to strive to exceed expectations and offer Lighthouse families and the community the best ABA therapy available.