Hi there, families!

Summer vacation is now upon us. I know everyone is ready for getting away for some rest and relaxation after the crazy year we’ve had! As we move into summer break where many people will be traveling, we wanted to take a moment to remind you of our attendance policy regarding non-emergency absences. In these situations, we require 24-hour advance notice of cancellation to avoid late cancellation/no-show fees, however the farther out advance notice you can give us, the better. So, please take a moment to get out your summer calendars and give our office a call so that we can go ahead and mark the days that your child will not be attending their regularly scheduled appointments.

We ask that you do so for several different reasons:

1. Your child’s appointment time is a time that his or her therapist set aside specifically for him or her. When you fail to let your therapist know of an absence in advance, this is disrespectful of their time. We do our best to give you the same courtesy in return when our staff are out for planned
2. Many children are currently waiting to be seen for evaluations to begin therapy. When we do not have ample notice of cancellations, we do not have ample time to call and offer that time to another family who is eagerly waiting to begin therapy.
3. We are working very hard to ensure that children are able to continue receiving therapy while their regular treating clinician is out. When we are notified in advance, this provides us with an opportunity to offer these times for reschedules to families who want to ensure their children continue to get the therapy services they need. We know that sometimes parents feel anxious about someone new or different seeing their child, but this can really be a beneficial thing for them in several ways:
   1. They can practice the skills they are learning with someone new, which is great for generalizing! Many children struggle with this, so it is great to allow them to practice in the clinic setting where they are familiar and feel
   2. It helps our clinicians help your child reach their full potential since they are less likely to show regression if they consistently attend therapy
   3. Kids are resilient– sometimes, as parents, we may be more concerned about how our kids will accept a new person than they are- you might be surprised when you see them take really well to a new person!

We completely understand that things will come up unexpectedly, and when these things do, we are happy to find open times to help your child get in for the therapy they need. Progress can be directly linked back to consistent attendance in therapy and carryover of home exercise programs into the natural environment. When your child misses therapy sessions, he or she misses that consistency in intervention that is so important in helping them reach their goals. It is our job as pediatric therapists to ensure that children continue to make progress towards their goals.

We wish you all a safe and happy summer! We greatly appreciate you taking the time to read this letter and abiding by our policy so that we can help all the children who need our help- yours included!

Sincerely,

Beth Fleming, M.S., CCC-SLP

Pediatric SLP/Owner and CEO, Chatterbox Pediatric Therapy