Summer at In Stepps!

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.  ~Henry James

Summer is upon us! We here at In Stepps LOVE Summer time. What is better than incorporating water balloons, squirt bottles, swimming pools, and other fun outdoor activities into sessions with the kiddos? These are great opportunities for introducing novel and motivating play, expanding on language, working on new play skills,  facilitating peer interactions, and more! What is your favorite Summer activity to do with your kids? We would love to hear your ideas!

Some exciting Summer events are coming up at In Stepps! Parent's Night Out will be on Friday June 29th from 6:30-9:30! Please be sure to RSVP ASAP if you would like your child to join us. Next month we will be offering another Parent's Day Out (back by popular demand) on July 28th from 11am-2pm. We are also in the process of planning our First Family Night Out event which should take place sometime in July/August and our First In Stepps Family Picnic in September! In Stepps will also be offering Summer Camp options starting in August. So keep a lookout for dates and information on how to register!

(On a side note, In Stepps will be turning TWO in July! Can you believe it?!)

So we've got the kids covered. But we also have some cool opportunities for parents, specifically dads! If you are looking for the perfect Father's Day gift... this could be it! Give the dad in your life the gift of knowledge! In Stepps is offering a 2-Session Parent Education series on proactive discipline strategies JUST FOR DADS! Psychologist Eliza DelPizzo-Cheng, Ph.D.,BCBA-D, will teach dads the “why” of challenging behavior and doable behaviorally-based parenting strategies. This series is designed for father's of children with developmental disabilities, but is relevant for any Dad. The series will be on August 1st & 8th from 7-9pm at the In Stepps office. Cost: $225 (includes a workbook). Sign up and give Dad tools he can use everyday! Call In STEPPS at 949.474.1493 for registration information or email Dr. DelPizzo eliza@instepps.com-- Limit 15 dads
In lieu of Summer, we do have a couple of administrative reminders for our In Stepps families:

1.) Remember to fill out your Summer and Fall availability forms that should have already been provided by your PC and/or Supervisor. These forms will help us accommodate your child's schedule for the Extended School Year (ESY) and any school changes that will occur in the fall. Also, please inform us ASAP if your family will be going on a vacation this Summer. If you have not received the form yet, please ask your Case Supervisor so we can have it on file. We need 2 weeks to accommodate changes and requests. As a reminder, we cannot commit to temporary schedule changes due to short term camps, family outings, etc.

2.) If you would like your child to participate in water activities such as swimming, please ensure we have the Water Activities Consent Form on file for your family/child. If you have filled this form out during a previous Summer with In Stepps, there is no need to fill out another one. We are ready to swim when you are! Ask your Supervisor for the consent and inform your Supervisor in advance for scheduling any swimming or water activity plans.

In other In Stepps news... Have you had a chance to check out our AMAZING new website? We worked extremely hard on the new features and design and we are very proud of the end result. There are several convenient additions for our families including a Calendar of Events section where you can check out upcoming events and programs as well as a Newsletter. Be sure to subscribe to the Newsletter by entering your email address on the home page. You can see the new website in all it's glory here: http://www.instepps.com/

If you would like to be connected even more to In Stepps, make sure you "like" us on Facebook! There you will find a lot of information not featured on our blog, including community events, pictures, resources, coupons, fun links, and more. Once you "like" our page, all updates can be found directly in your personal news feed. Our Facebook Page is here! Check it out and leave us some comments!

Many of you have recently received a letter from Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC) regarding your child's services and insurance coverage under the new SB946 law. We understand that many of you have questions, concerns, and general confusion regarding the upcoming changes and how to obtain insurance coverage. In Stepps is committed to assisting your family through this process and support you in any way we can. We have a FAQ post that we will be sharing with you shortly that addresses many of the questions you may have. Keep an eye out! We will post on Facebook as soon as it is posted and ready to go. In the meantime, please feel free to call us at (949) 474-1493 or email info@instepps.com if you have any issues so we can support you through it. Also, please be sure to fill out the Insurance Information Form/Consent that your Supervisor has brought out to you so we can help with the communication between your family and insurance company.

Finally, we have two more In Stepps Stars to brag about! Can you guess who they are?? Stay tuned!

Spring Has Sprung!

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." – Lao Tzu

Hello There! Spring is finally here, yay! Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful weather and planning for an eventful Spring Break!

We have had quite a busy month (is it just us or is that becoming a recurring theme around here?)... and we are feeling on top of the world!

To start off, The First Annual In Stepps Open House was a HUGE HUGE HUGE success! We had such a great turn out and it was so much fun. Not only did we have a bounce house, face painting, crafts, games, and a photo booth.... but we also cooked almost 200 hot dogs! Wow! We hope all of you that made it out enjoyed yourselves as much as we did! The kiddos were adorable and we loved meeting your extended families (and introducing you to ours). Thank you SO much to the In Stepps team members that put in HOURS of time and a huge amount of work and effort to ensure the event went well. It would not as been possible without your dedication and flexibility. Seriously, it would not have been possible. Really. It wouldn't have been. So thank you! Once again we are reminded of the wonderful, fabulous, amazing, awesome, brilliant, excellent, great team we have. :) Also, another HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to all of the wonderful people/families/businesses that donated to our raffle. Those that won your amazing donations were thrilled. Gotta admit, some of us were a little jealous, too! You all sent in such awesome prizes!

Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a few of the pictures from the event (the rest can be found on our Facebook Page).

If you haven't seen the Evite or flyer for the first Parent's Day Out, don't worry! You still have time to sign up. Our St. Patrick's Day themed Parent's Day Out will be on March 31st from 11:00am-2:00pm. So make plans to go to brunch/lunch, run some errands, take a walk on the beach, grab coffee, get your hair or nails done, get in a workout, or anything else that you would like to do on a Saturday afternoon. Just leave the kids with us, because we will have lots of fun stuff planned! If you are new to Parent's Night/Day Out, check out our FAQ Post that has all the information you need. Spots are filling up quickly, so be sure to RSVP by clicking 'Yes' on the Evite or emailing info@instepps.com.

Due to some scheduling conflicts, the Learn In Stepps series will begin on April 7th (not March 24th as previously announced). There are still a few spots open if you would like to take advantage of this amazing learning opportunity for your child. Lean In Stepps classes will be held on Saturdays from 9:00am- Noon. By signing up, you will be giving your child a boost in their academic performance and their social skills in a small group learning environment. Enrichment in academics will be interspersed with social skill practice with high staffing ratios in each group! Goals for each child are individualized and classes will be divided into age groups. Homework for the week provided if requested! Each series is 12 weeks. For more information, pricing, or to sign your child up please email info@instepps.com. Hurry, space is limited! This opportunity is open to all families in the community!

Keep your eyes open for the new In Stepps Stars, insurance information, and upcoming Summer events!

There are a few easy ways to contact us with any questions, inquiries, feedback, or to sign up for any event:
Email: info@instepps.com
Call: (949) 474-1493
Facebook: "Like" In Stepps on Facebook to get updates directly to your news feed
NEW! In Stepps is now on Twitter! Hooray! Follow us at www.twitter.com/in_stepps or send us a tweet @in_stepps!
Open House Pictures (find many, many more on our Facebook Page):

January PNO Recap

Hi All...

Wow, we had an AMAZING Parent's Night Out in January. What a terrific group of kiddos that came out!

There is something so magical about watching friendships form and social skills evolve, and those who supervised PNO this past month (Thanks to Lindsey, Nicole H., and Nicole F.) were lucky enough to witness it first hand! We hope the parents who had the night off went and did something fun, because fun was all we had at the In Stepps office!

Just a reminder: Our February Valentine's Day PNO will be on February 24th from 6:30-9:30pm. Be sure to sign up by the 17th by emailing info@instepps.com or by calling the office at (949) 474-1493. You can also request to be put on our "Evite List" so you will be able to easily register your child every month.

Also, be on the lookout for some PNO changes coming up in March! PNO will become PDO-- Parent's DAY Out and will be on a Saturday! We are super excited about being able to reach more families and allow parents to have lunch together, run some errands, and get some of those weekend tasks marked off the "to do" list.

Check out the pictures below (we are using them with parent permission, of course) of our exciting January PNO!

New friends and computer games!

Just relaxin'!

It's movie time!

Playing XBox Kinect with a supervisor-- so fun!

Our very own Super Hero!

 Moving around playing XBox Kinect!

 Lights out for the movie!

Too cool for words!

Happy New Year, Indeed!

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.- Winston Churchill

Phew! What a busy holiday season we had at In Stepps! Is it really over?! Are we really in 2012?! Hard to believe... but we made it! We hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday and a very happy new year.

Hopefully you didn't miss us in our "blog absence" during the month of December. But if you did, don't worry... we will make it up to you! You see, we may have been missing from the Internet world, but we were busy planning out 2012 and all the new and improved ways we can support the In Stepps families and our local community. We have a lot of cool things in the works right now, and we are anxious to share them with you and your family. Keep an eye out for new updates by checking the blog often or following us on Facebook. Just "like" our Facebook page and get In Stepps news, updates, resources, and more directly into your news feed.

First and foremost: mark your calendars, save the date! We have some events coming up:
January 27th will be our next Parent's Night Out. If you haven't joined us before or are curious about what this fun night is all about you can check out our previous blog that includes some helpful information. Please sign up by January 20th to allow us to plan staff and supplies accordingly. 
March 10th will be our First Annual In Stepps Open House! We are very excited about this awesome event and can't wait to share the details with you. There will be food, games, family activities, and much more. Stay tuned and keep your eye out for an invitation flyer.

Our In Stepps office has expanded! This means we have much more space to accommodate in-office events such as PNO, social skills, workshops, and training. Hip hip hooray! Be sure to update your records with our new address: 18008 Sky Park Circle Suite 110, Irvine, 92614. Our new space also means a new entrance since we have moved everything around. Access our new suite by using the entrance located on the right side of the building (there is plenty of parking located by the new entrance). Just remember: same building, same floor.... but new door! Adriana will be there to greet you in our new waiting area so stop by and visit soon!

A few weeks ago, our entire staff got together for a holiday party. It was a blast and such a great opportunity to get everyone in the same place for a night to honor such a wonderful 2011 and toast to a fantastic team! Check out some pictures below.

 

And last but certainly not least....we have a new In Stepps Star! Is it your favorite therapist? Parent Consultant? Supervisor? You'll have to check back to find out next time!

We are looking forward to all that is in store for In Stepps in 2012! Thank you for your continued support and feedback. We love hearing from you so feel free to email us, leave a comment on Facebook or our blog, or stop by and see us!

Holiday Sesason Prep

Good morning and Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and long weekend!

We are really excited about some upcoming holiday events, including December Parent's Night Out on December 16! PNO and In Stepps' office will transform into a Holiday Celebration Party! This is a great opportunity to leave your kids with us while you head out for some last minute gift shopping, take visiting family and friends out to dinner, or connect with your spouse without the kids before they are out of school for a couple of weeks. Please RSVP no later than December 9- let your supervisor know or contact Lindsey if you would like to sign up your child(ren).

With the holidays upon us, schedules are sure to be full of vacations, visitors, and places to be. If you are an In Stepps family, please be sure to let your supervisor know any holiday schedule changes or cancellations as soon as possible! Many of our staff members are planning to work during the holiday season and we would like to fulfill contract hours for those families and staff that will be available. School's Winter Break may provide us with an opportunity to move hours around, so be sure to inform your supervisor of your family's availability and needs. We want to be sure to accommodate any make ups during this busy time of year. Your supervisor will let you know of any staff changes as well.

Also, be sure to discuss any concerns you have about your child and holiday celebrations with your team early so they can plan to do some priming, social stories, and/or skill rehearsal before the holidays arrive. This is a great opportunity to make the holidays a successful, fun, and memorable time for your child and family!

Here are some pictures from our In Stepps Thanksgiving Pot Luck. Thanks to everyone who brought their signature yummy dishes! :)

Looking forward to an exciting holiday season!