Last week Lighthouse Autism Center installed lockers at its Park Place location where kids are enrolled in the Junior Learning Program. Many of these kids are preparing to transfer back to school, and as a result, many of their programs include learning daily skills that they will need in school. Lockers will help teach them where to keep their books during the day, and how to put away their things at the beginning of the day, and gather them at the end. This is a wonderful new addition to the center and we would like to give a big thanks to our Outreach Coordinator, Pat Sweeney, who took time over the weekend to pick up and help install the lockers. Thanks, Pat!!

This week was the first week we had staff at our new center Plymouth, IN. They were busy opening countless boxes, putting together carts, tables, rooms, and getting the center put together. Thank you to all of the staff who worked there this week getting the center ready for our kiddos. Here is a sneak peak of the new location.

LAC Offers Therapy Services in Plymouth, Indiana

Starting in August, Lighthouse will begin to offer therapy services to Plymouth and the surrounding communities. The center will be located in Plymouth and will be home to our newest – and fourth – Lighthouse Autism Center. With this location we’ll be able to provide much-needed ABA therapy to families in those communities.

“Several of our families who are enrolled at our Mishawaka and Warsaw locations are actually from the Plymouth area. Some of these parents are willing to drive over an hour back and forth everyday to get their kids the therapy they need because there are no other options in their communities,” said Gregg Maggioli, Executive Director.

Realizing there was a growing need, Lighthouse organized a community interest meeting to gauge the need for autism therapy services in Plymouth and the surrounding areas. “The turnout from families, local schools, doctors, and advocates was outstanding and largely solidified our decision to open a center there. With the support of the community and the need for the ABA therapy services we provide, there was no question that opening a center in Plymouth was the next step for Lighthouse,” said Gregg.

The new center will initially have 12 children and a staff of 16 and we expect to grow to 18 children and a 30-person staff. Opening a center in Plymouth will have a positive effect on the availability of services in Northern Indiana. Once the new center opens, Gregg notes that the Plymouth-area families enrolled at the Mishawaka and Warsaw locations will be transferring to the Plymouth locations. This will in turn free spots at our Mishawaka and Warsaw locations to serve more families in those areas.

Families now have more options than ever before for providers of autism treatment. Amongst these providers, Lighthouse has emerged as a leader in autism therapy in Northern Indiana. “Through the opening of our center in Plymouth, it is our hope to continue our mission of bringing quality, center-based therapy to communities who are in need of ABA services,” said Gregg.

To read the entire Spring 2015 edition of The Autism Beacon click here.

At Lighthouse Autism Center, we strive to provide quality ABA treatment for all those who are in need. By placing our focus on each child and their parents, we do everything we can to make a positive difference in their lives.

Yet, even with a dedicated, highly trained, and committed team of clinicians, there are some families who need assistance beyond Lighthouse. hey may be too old, may not need ABA therapy, or, Lighthouse may not be a good fit for them. No matter the reason, they still need assistance in other ways, and providing needed assistance is what we’re all about.

That’s why we started the Lighthouse Families First Foundation (LFFF) earlier this year. A nonprofit organization, the LFFF helps special needs children, adults, and their families outside of Lighthouse’s capabilities. And we’re already off to a successful start.

In honor of Autism Awareness Month in April, we held a variety of activities aimed at raising funds for autism care, along with an overall awareness of autism. The events included hosting a dinner and dance, and we set a month-long goal of raising $20,000 to benefit LHFFF. However, thanks to the heartwarming generosity of the Michiana community, we far exceeded our goal and raised over $30,000. LHFFF gives 100 percent of that money in various ways to the families we assist. For instance, we might provide an iPad with communication software for a nonverbal child, or a scholarship so a child can receive therapy. We even supply gas cards for families who can’t afford to get their child to and from therapy and medical appointments. By donating to the Lighthouse Families First Foundation, you can make a tangible difference in the life of a special needs child.

To read the entire Spring 2015 issue of the Autism Beacon click here.

On Thursday, July 23rd, Lighthouse Autism Center hosted its third annual baseball outing. Staff from all three (and soon to be four!) locations came together for an evening at the ballpark. It is an event we always look forward to and we love seeing how the outing grows from year-to-year. This is a great opportunity for Lighthouse staff to come together outside of work, and for Lighthouse to show our employees how much we appreciate all of their hard work!

Exciting News for our Co-Founder Sandy Maggioli

It is with great excitement that we announce Sandy Maggioli’s election as Vice President of InPeat. For those of you not familiar with this organization, InPeat seeks to “enhance the professional success of it’s member organizations, to facilitate relationships with payers, encourage and facilitate the adherence to high ethical and professional standards, and to promote a better understanding of the services provided by their members.”

Sandy Maggioli, co-founder of Lighthouse Autism Center and parent of a child with autism, has spent years advocating for autism services and advocating on behalf of those effected by autism. We want to congratulate her on this exciting new role and know that her skills, experience and leadership will greatly contribute to the mission and goals of InPeat.

Three Years of ABA Therapy at Northern Indiana Center

This month we celebrate three years of providing quality ABA therapy in Northern Indiana. Since opening in 2012, Lighthouse Autism Center has opened three centers and has plans to open a fourth this summer. Yesterday, we celebrated this achievement with our Annual Anniversary Bbq. Lighthouse staff gathered in the backyard of our Edison location for good food, good company, and to celebrate the great work they do for children with autism. During the bbq each year, we also take the time to recognize staff who have been with Lighthouse for at least two years. Their work and time is commemorated with a 2 year anniversary brick that will always remain at Lighthouse, even when some of our staff move on.

We are excited to see what the next year brings for our organization as we continue to grow and serve even more families in the Northern Indiana area. Thank you to all the Lighthouse families, without your commitment and faith in our organization we would not be here. Thank you also to our incredible staff that work one-on-one with the kiddos, the admin staff behind the scenes, and the founders, Gregg and Sandy Maggioli, for without your work and dedication, Lighthouse would not be where it is today.

Raising Autism Awareness and Promoting Acceptance

In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared that April 2nd would become World Autism Awareness Day. Today, we celebrate by wearing blue to not only raise awareness about autism, but also promote acceptance.  We will continue to celebrate Autism Awareness for the entire month of April, and always celebrate autism acceptance here at Lighthouse Autism Center. Today, our kiddos and staff celebrated by wearing blue, doing puzzle piece crafts, and making signs to show our support for autism awareness.

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!!!

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of last week, all three of the Lighthouse centers had two very special guests – Mr. and Mrs. Clause! Santa and Mrs. Clause made their first stop at the Warsaw location on Wednesday. Although only two of our kiddos were there to see him, the Warsaw staff made the most of it and had a wonderful Christmas party!

Next stop for Santa was our Park Place location. Although we have an older group of kids here they still very much enjoyed seeing and interacting with Mr. and Mrs. Clause. Families were welcome to partake and many of our kiddos brought their younger siblings so they could join in the Christmas games, goodies and crafts!

The last stop was the Edison Lakes Parkway location. Santa and Mrs. Clause sat in front of our fire place and each kiddo was able to get a picture with Santa, and even the staff too!

Although we had three separate Christmas celebrations, all three centers came together to donate Christmas gifts and Christmas dinner to two local families in need through St. Anythony’s Giving Tree Program! This is the second year we have done this and is a tradition we intend to continue here at Lighthouse.