We did it again! Every three years, we have an opportunity to showcase the quality of our work and gain valuable feedback from CARF International (CARF). As a result of our commitment to high standards of clinical care and client satisfaction, we received another three-year CARF accreditation in 2022 for all of our programs: Behavioral Consultation Services (ABA program), Services for Children & Youth: Early Intervention Services (EI program) and Community Integration (Kaleidoscope program). This three -year accreditation is the best possible outcome and helps us ensure quality outcomes for the people we serve.

As part of our commitment to excellence, we’re focused on delivering quality care to each of our clients and their families. That’s why it’s extremely important to hear from you during our twice yearly survey! Your feedback lets us know how we’re doing and helps us identify areas we can continue to improve.

In October you will receive our second Customer Satisfaction survey of 2022. The short survey will be sent via email from Easterseals Northern California and take less than 10 mins to complete. As a thank you to families who complete the survey, five respondents from each program will be randomly selected to receive a $20 Amazon gift card. We’d love to hear from even more of you this October!

School has started and home life is busy – there are schedules to manage, lunches to pack, homework to do, and helping your child with autism adjust to all the newness tops your task list. Much like your care team creates an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for your student, parents and caregivers also need to create their own plans to ensure that self-care becomes as routine as all they do to care for others.

Of course, adding another “project” or thinking about major changes may feel overwhelming, especially at the start of the school year. But there might not be a better time – the first few weeks of school are when everyone starts to get used to new routines, and so can you! It is important to remember that we can’t help others before we help ourselves, and parents and caregivers need to stop and recharge, refuel and reimagine just like anyone else. This often involves making sure we have food, rest, and recovery — which on some days can feel like quite a task! But on other days, you might feel that you have a moment to reflect on what makes you smile, what activity you enjoy so much you lose track of time, or what helps you be your best self. These are great additions to your plan, along with some simple self-care activities for the days when there is quite a lot going on.

Find the method that works best to remember your plan, whether it’s a written list or a mental one, or digitally stored in a device. As we begin to identify experiences that nurture our well-being, we can creatively include them in our daily lives. In their “5 Self-care Tips for Parents of Children with Autism” blog, Trumpet Behavioral Health suggests double-tasking to add self-care activities to your life. This can look like calling friends and family while walking the dog; listening to an Audible book while driving; reading a favorite magazine or book while eating lunch; singing in the shower. All are great examples of how to enrich routine activities. Trumpet Behavioral Health also suggest task-bettering, which mean combining the enjoyable with less preferred activities, like watching TV and folding laundry; listening to music while washing dishes; playing games on the phone while waiting.

Of course, self-care is more than feel good moments. But our choosing to breathe more fun, meaningful and restorative moments into our daily routines is a commitment to care for ourselves, which is also an amazing way to show up for others.

Adjusting to New Schedules

With children heading back-to-school, it can be challenging to balance all of the different responsibilities and schedules. If you need to adjust your Infant Development Sessions, please reach out to your therapist directly. We will do our best to meet the needs of all our clients and their families.

Expanding Infant Development Services

We are pleased to announce that our Infant Development Services is expanding into several new regions. Far Northern Regional Center has identified a need for immediate services in Redding, so we will be hiring bilingual staff to provide assessments, 1:1 and 1:3 services in that area.

And as a result of our 2019 work with the Redwood Coast Regional Center and our three-year Mental Health Service Act Grant in 2020, we are expanding into Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties where we will provide bilingual services.

We are excited for the growth our program has seen over the last two and a half years and cannot wait to see what the future holds for our underserved communities! If you know someone who would like to make a difference in their community and join the Easterseals Northern California team, they can learn more at esnorcal.org/careers.