Lighthouse Autism Center’s Company Values are at the core of everything we do.  We live our values every day, and it is reflected in our standards and expectations for providing outstanding ABA therapy. Recently, we have recognized 7 employees who are shining examples of our values, and we would like to introduce you to one of them today…

This is Cassie Gaines from our Edison Center in Mishawaka, Indiana! Photographed with Sean Addley. Cassie is the proud recipient of the Lighthouse award “Care about People more than Anything.”

Cassie grew up in Plymouth, Indiana and has always loved helping those with autism throughout grade school and high school. In grade school, she would play with her autistic peers in the sensory room instead of going to recess. In school plays, she would help the kiddos with their roles too. She even taught swimming lessons to a child with autism!

When she started working at Lighthouse Autism Center on October 10th, 2017, she felt like for once in her life she was in a room with people with hearts like hers.

Cassie loves the fact that she gets to be an integral part of these kiddos lives. She loves that everyday she works with other ABA therapists who are also passionate about loving these kiddos.

Congratulations Cassie for your LAC Award! You earned it! 

Meet our Long Term Staff at Lighthouse Autism Center

The leading clinical staff are central to the quality of care at any ABA center. They are the Board Certified Behavior Analysts who write and oversee programs for individual clients.

When an ABA center has low turnover amongst its leading clinical staff, this is a good sign. Quality ABA centers should maintain low turnover to ensure a higher quality of care for their clients.

Another sign of a quality ABA center is a smaller caseload size per BCBA. BCBAs who are overwhelmed with higher caseload numbers simply won’t be able to provide the same level of attention to each individual child as they would with a smaller caseload.

At Lighthouse, we are all about low turnover and small caseloads. To prove it, we wanted to showcase the staff who have been with us for the long haul:

 

Leila Allen, Clinical Director
Our Clinical Director and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst(BCBA) who has been directing our clinical team for six years. Leila is an animal rescue lover with two large dogs who weigh over 120 lbs!

 

Jordan Kujawski, Senior Program Manager
Jordan is a BCBA and our Senior Program Manager at the Park Place Center in Mishawaka, IN. Jordan is a full-blown boy mom with 3 energetic sons under 5 years old.

 

Torie Itani, Senior Program Manager
A Board Certified Behavior Analyst and the Senior Program Manager at the founding center of Lighthouse. One of Torie’s favorite things to do is to attend music festivals throughout the country.

 

Katie Meyer, Senior Program Manager
Our Senior Program Manager in Plymouth is Katie. Katie loves to travel and go hiking in various countries. Katie is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst!

 

Nicole Smoker, Program Manager
Nicole is the Program Manager and BCBA in Warsaw, Lighthouse’s second ever center. In her spare time, Nicole enjoys spending time with her family out on the lake they reside on!

 

Natalie Donkersloot, Senior Program Manager
A Board Certified Behavior Analyst and our Senior Program Manager in Portage Michigan. Natalie loves to partake in outdoor activities throughout Michigan.

Opening of Lighthouse Autism Center in Portage, Michigan

Lighthouse Autism Center has grown drastically in the nearly six years it has been open. Since 2012, Lighthouse has opened a new center in a new location each year, with its most recent center opening in the Fall of 2017 in Portage, Michigan. This is Lighthouse’s fifth center overall and its first center in Michigan. When Gregg and Sandy Maggioli, the founders of Lighthouse Autism Center, moved back to Mishawaka, Indiana, they came with a mission of helping families and children with autism. With over a decade of experience with ABA centers, Gregg and Sandy had the tools, knowledge, and
passion to open Lighthouse Autism Center. “Starting out, 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 aren’t alone in this,” said Gregg.

Nearly six years later, Lighthouse Autism Center is now branching out to other states, with its newest center now operating in Portage, Michigan. At the Portage center, local families will receive quality, center-based, ABA therapy for their child, as well as support for the entire family. Furthermore, the center not only provides services for local families but is also creating jobs in the area by employing ten therapists, program managers and administrative staff, with plans to expand.

At Lighthouse, we believe in hope for every child and family. We are excited to bring our services to a new community in Michigan and continuing our mission by serving families in need.

When Natalie Donkersloot was an undergrad psych student at WMU, she didn’t know that one day she would be working with children with autism. In fact, Natalie thought she would end up in an organizational behavior management or industrial organizational position in a large company. That all changed when she took a class on applied behavior analysis(ABA).

When I was an undergrad, I wasn’t entirely sure about what I wanted to do in psychology. So I decided to try the autism practicum. I took one of Dr. Malott’s classes, Introduction to the Concepts and Principles of Behavior Analysis, and fell in love!

After getting her undergraduate degree, she began to work towards her Master’s by serving as a tutor at a special education school known as Woodsedge Learning Center. While working at Woodsedge, she worked with children with autism. Natalie practiced applied behavior analysis(ABA) therapy, a core therapy that is used to treat autism.

When I worked at Woodsedge, I saw the difference that the therapy could make in the kids. I loved it. I loved the difference that it could make in just one semester.

As Natalie Donkersloot was finishing her Master’s of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis, she knew she wanted to continue to work with children doing ABA therapy. That’s when she met Gregg Maggioli, the founder of Lighthouse Autism Center.

I went to a WMU Job Fair and Lighthouse had a booth. That’s where I met Gregg. After our meeting, he offered me a job to start in May once I had my degree. I accepted the position.

At the time, Lighthouse Autism Center was only located in Indiana. Natalie didn’t like leaving her community in Kalamazoo, but she knew that Lighthouse was the place for her.

If there had been an option like Lighthouse in Michigan, I would have worked up there. I liked how Gregg was a parent of a child with autism. Plus, Gregg seemed like a great businessman. The centers were well organized and clean. Most centers aren’t like that.

After being in Indiana for awhile, Natalie was missing Kalamazoo more and more.

I was in Indiana for two and a half years and at the beginning I was open to living there. I gave it a chance and it just wasn’t for me. I wanted to get back up near my friends and family. My support group. I had friends from undergrad school and friends from grad school all in Kalamazoo. I basically spent every weekend driving up to Kalamazoo because that was where my friends were.

When Gregg decided to open up a therapy center in Portage, Michigan, Natalie couldn’t have been more excited.

It was perfect. I always wanted to move back to Michigan, but I really wanted to stay with Lighthouse. I asked for the opportunity to work at the Portage center almost as soon as I heard about it.

Natalie says that the therapy center is a HUGE opportunity for WMU students.

They have huge opportunity for growth and advancement. I started out as a junior program manager, got promoted to a program manager and now I am a senior program manager!

Lighthouse Autism Center isn’t just for Master’s of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis, like Natalie. Lighthouse also needs students with undergraduate degrees in Psychology, Education or a related field to work as ABA therapists. ABA therapists work 1 on 1 with children to implement the actual therapy program.

Natalie spends her days working with the kiddo’s at Lighthouse Autism Center and taking great pride in the work she does. She spends her evenings and weekends hanging out with her family and friends in the area. Now that Lighthouse is located in Kalamazoo, it’s the perfect set up for her.

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.

Hannah and Friends Annual 5K Run and Walk in South Bend, IN

Lighthouse Autism Center sponsored and put together a team to participate in the annual Hannah and Friends 5K Run and Walk in South Bend, IN. Each year, Hannah and Friends, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness and compassion for those with different abilities, hosts the walk and run in order to raise funds for there many programs that benefit children and adults with special needs.

This is  the fourth consecutive year Lighthouse Autism Center has sponsored and participated in this event. It is something we look forward to every year and our staff are always excited about. It is a great opportunity to give back to other organizations within our community and support their various missions. We are excited to continue this tradition of sponsoring this event, and are looking forward to it next summer!

After nearly a year of planning, meetings and construction, the expansion at Lighthouse Autism Center in Warsaw is finally complete. The center is bigger and better than ever, and, we can now serve even more families in the Warsaw area.

We opened the Warsaw location in July 2013 after many families, doctors, and autism advocates requested us to do so. With no other ABA Therapy providers in that area, Lighthosue flled a much needed gap in autism therapy services.

Since then, we’ve enjoyed the support and kindness of the Warsaw community. We’ve also been able to help some pretty wonderful kids and their families. As demand grew for our services, it soon became evident we would need mroe space and more therapists to continue providing ABA Therapy in Warsaw. So, we began an expansion and spent a great deal of planning, time, and resources to make it happen. Now, just under three years after, our expansion is complete, giving us two additional therapy rooms, a bigger playroom, and an indoor swing.

“This expansion is something that we’ve been discussing for quite a while, and it’s great to see it finally coming to fruition,” said Executive Director Gregg Maggioli. “A lot’s gone into the expansion and were excited to be able to assist even more families in the Warsaw area than before.”

The expansion will allow us to grow from serving 7 families to a total of 12 families, with kids from ages 2-12 attending. We anticipate hiring five more therapists from the Warsaw area to accommodate additional children enrolling. Should we find the need for our services continuing to grow, we will consider further expanding to meet those needs.

With the construction complete, we’d like to thank the BowenCenter, WJ Carey Construction, and the Lighthouse staff in Warsaw for their help and patience. “Now with this expansion, we have even more resources to continue offering hope for every child and every family in Warsaw,” said Gregg.

April was Autism Awareness month, which made it an extra special time for those of us in the autism community. To celebrate, we participated in several fundraising events while also collecting donations for the Lighthouse Families First Foundation. The LHFFF allows us to help special needs children, adults, and their families outside of Lighthouse’s capabilities by giving 100 percent of the money raised to help those we assist.

On April 15, the Lighthouse staff volunteered at the annual Hockey 4 Life tournament. This group of civic-minded hockey enthusiasts raises money each year with their weekend-long event, which includes hockey games, a silent auction and a raffle. We helped keep score during the tournament while also passing out information on Autism Awareness to participants and spectators.

One of our Mishawaka Lighthouse Autism Center neighbors, Evil Czech Brewery and Public House, also promoted Autism Awareness to their customers throughout April. This included “A Night of Awareness” on April 21, which we co-hosted with  Evil Czech for the second time. On that night, Evil Czech donated 10 percent of all its sales to special needs families in the northern Indiana area. The event raised over $2,200 that will go directly to helping families in the area.

We can’t thank these groups, businesses and all those who participated enough for their compassionate generosity and support. Because of you, we’re able to make a positive difference in the lives of special needs children or adults and their families.