Little Star Center staff plans fundraising events

Fundraising events are scheduled this spring to support Little Star Center, an Indiana ABA therapy facility. Staff at Little Star’s Indiana locations are teaming up to raise money for the non-profit organization’s scholarship program which provides financial support to learners unable to cover tuition when faced with temporary insurance challenges.

Families and friends of Little Star are invited to participate in the following events/activities to support the scholarship program:

 

Lafayette West

autism braceletsBlue or purple Advocates for Autism bracelets can be purchased for $2 (one bracelet) or $5 (three bracelets). Bracelets are available in  youth and adult sizes and can be shipped to your home. For more information, please email Sara Franceschina at [email protected].

Also, join us for our Paparazzi Jewelry event. Click here to visit the event page to view items and make a purchase.

Bloomington 

auction items

These and other items are for up for auction at Give to the Stars on June 11 at Butler Winery and Vineyards.

June 11 – 7-10 p.m. “Give to the Stars,” Butler Winery and Vineyards, 5200 E. Robinson Road. This event, now in its second year, will feature live music and a silent auction. Items up for bid include yoga classes, massages and tickets to an Indianapolis Indians game, Holiday World and Disney World.

Advance tickets are $8 and $10 on the day of the event. Five tickets can be purchased for $38. To purchase tickets, please contact Amanda Jones at 812-650-3032. Tickets are available until June 6.

Carmel

Purchase items from Thirty-One Gifts through May 25 and a portion of the proceeds will go to Little Star Center’s scholarship program. Start shopping here.

 

Staff Spotlight: Chris Kirk, insurance coordinator, Little Star Center Carmel

Chris PhotoChris Kirk, insurance coordinator at Little Star Center, is based at our Carmel location. He joined Little Star three years ago and processes all insurance claims, from reconciling each center’s daily charges to following up on outstanding claims. Chris also sends all of our learners’ authorization requests to their respective insurance companies and follows through to ensure approval. Here’s more information about Chris:

What do you most enjoy about your job at Little Star Center? I enjoy the people I work with and the difference I can make in this position. I have made some great connections, established friendships with my colleagues and discovered that we all have a lot of common interests. In my position as insurance coordinator, I take on a lot of the responsibility of making sure each learner has access to continuous service with our therapists.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? “Happy wife, happy life.”

 One thing I want people to know and understand about working with children affected by autism is….Insurance plays a big part in being able to provide effective care for children affected by autism. Many parents think that (ABA therapy) might be too expensive or unobtainable, but there are many options available to make interactive, individualized therapy affordable.  I’m here to be a resource for families at Little Star Center who have questions about insurance, billing, authorizations, or even logistics to help plan ABA therapy for children.

What are your favorite activities when not working at Little Star Center?

I enjoy spending time with my family, watching TV shows and movies, watching Washington Redskins football, and playing sports. Since I’m not originally from Indiana, I enjoy exploring Indy and the area with my wife. Lauren, who grew up here.  We have three dogs: Annie, Cooley and Scotty.

 

Mommy room at Little Star Center in Carmel gives new moms privacy, comfort

collageReturning to work for new moms can be an overwhelming balancing act. Between being separated from their newborn for the first time, juggling a new schedule and adjusting to being a mom, keeping up with supplying breast milk should be the least of concerns. Realizing this need, Little Star Center Executive Director Mary Rosswurm created a space at the newly expanded Carmel Little Star Center to make the transition easier for new moms.

Little Star Center in Carmel has six new moms, three expectant mothers and two currently on maternity leave. The mommy room enables new moms to have a relaxing, private space to pump breast milk. The room also includes comfortable chairs, foot stools, blankets and a refrigerator to store milk. A special board hangs on the wall for moms to post photos of their infant. There is enough space for three moms to use the room simultaneously.

“I think this room shows our commitment as a company to our new moms,” says Rosswurm. “We love our LSC babies and want our female staff to know that we respect them and what they are doing for their baby. This was a cathartic task for me, as I am still grieving the passing of my mom who died just four months ago. This room is dedicated to her.”

 

Staff Spotlight – Angela Vargas, assistant clinical director, Lafayette West

Angela534Angela Vargas, assistant clinical director at our Lafayette West location, joined Little Star Center two years ago. She is responsible for all clinical and day-to-day activities at Lafayette West. Here’s more information about Angela:

What do you most enjoy about your job at Little Star Center? The collaboration among team members at all levels. It’s incredible to watch each learner make progress and know that the entire treatment team (parents, therapists, program managers, etc.) worked together to develop an individualized, intensive, and comprehensive program for that learner.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? As it relates to behavior analysis, the best advice I’ve ever been given is, “If someone isn’t learning something, there is a problem with your teaching.”

One thing I want people to know and understand about working with children affected by autism is…. every single individual affected by autism is different. Autism is a diagnosis, not a label.

What are your favorite activities when not working at Little Star Center? I enjoy working out, watching movies, trying new restaurants, and spending time with my boyfriend and our two dogs, Rocky and Shyla.

Clinical director visits alma mater to recruit for Little Star Center

Breanne presenting her mentor, Dr. Maloff, with an ABA superhero shirt.

Breanne presents her mentor, Dr. Richard Malott, with an ABA superhero shirt.

By Breanne Hartley, Ph.D, BCBA-D

I recently had the opportunity to visit my alma mater, Western Michigan University, in order to attend the Midwestern Behavior Analysis job fair. It was a pleasure to be at my old stomping grounds, which holds so many fond memories of professional development and growth, to represent Little Star Center. I had the opportunity to briefly present to undergraduate and graduate students regarding how amazing it is to be an employee at Little Star Center. Afterwards, I received great feedback on the information that was presented. Students were extremely impressed that Little Star Center provides its employees with frequent learning opportunities to continuously learn about behavior analysis, ongoing opportunities for professional development, daily collaboration with other like-minded behavior analysts, and a competitive benefits package.

My visit to Western Michigan University also allowed me the chance to visit with my mentor, Dr. Richard Malott, whom I studied under to receive my Doctorate in behavior analysis. His passion for behavior analysis and his enthusiasm for continuing to provide exceptional graduate-level behavior analytic training is contagious. I gave him an “ABA superhero” t-shirt, the Little Star Center swag for the job fair, and he proudly wore it to the job fair social. He truly is an ABA superhero!

Breanne Hartley is a clincial director at Little Star Center. 

Staff Spotlight: Danyl Epperheimer, assistant clinical director, Little Star Center-Bloomington

Danyl has worked at Little Star Center for two years. As assistant clinical director at Little Star Center-Bloomington, Danyl oversees the day-to-day operations at the location. Here’s more information about Danyl:

What do you most enjoy about your job at Little Star Center? Everything!  The kids, my co-workers. I like how the staff continues to strive to be the best in the field.

What are your favorite activities when not working at Little Star Center? Sleep because I never get any!  I also enjoy gardening and spending time with my husband, Tony and daughter, Halei, 11, and my friends. My most favorite activity in the world is to read and cook with Halei.  My daughter is my world.  Anybody who spends any time around me knows about her because I talk about her a lot.

Pets? We have one dog, who is 14 years old, and, yes, he thinks he is human. We also have two birds and a fish.

 

A learner’s journey to the barber shop – Little Star Center-Bloomington

One of our learners at Little Star Center-Bloomington has been working on hair cutting desensitization with his therapist. Getting to the stage where he is comfortable sitting for a haircut has been a gradual process which included allowing the therapist to touch his hair, sitting in the waiting area and touching the styling chair. The learner has been able to sit back in the styling chair at our center for two minutes without any unwanted behaviors!

Recently, he and his therapist visited a local barber shop to sit in a styling chair. He successfully sat in the chair and allowed his therapist to trim his hair!

Little Star Center supports local families in need for Thanksgiving

Little Star Center is collecting non-perishable items this month for our annual Thanksgiving food drive. All three locations are collecting items now through Friday, Nov. 13, for the following food pantries:
  • Officer David S. Moore Food Pantry – Indianapolis
  • Faith Church – Lafayette
  • Hoosier Hills Food Bank – Bloomington

For more information about the food drive and how to drop off items, please call the Little Star Center location in your area. Click here for contact information.

Staff Spotlight: Mark Hammer, Little Star Center Lafayette

Mark Hammer is a floater/scheduler at Little Star Center Lafayette. He has worked at Little Star Center for four years. His primary responsibilities are working with learners and creating the weekly schedule. Here’s more information about Mark:

What do you enjoy most about your job at Little Star Center? 

I enjoy having fun with all the kids and watching them grow.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

If the therapist isn’t having fun, then the learner probably isn’t either.

One thing I want people to know and understand about working with children affected by autism is….

Never underestimate any child’s abilities regardless of their challenges.

What are your favorite activities when not working at Little Star Center?

I enjoy anything that has to do with hanging out with my son, car shows, basketball games and riding bikes.

Little Star Center announces new West Lafayette ABA facility for children affected by autism, hiring new staff

Little Star Center, Indiana’s first center-based, therapeutic applied behavior analysis (ABA) provider serving children to young adults with autism, announces today it is opening a fourth location in Indiana. The new site will be the second Little Star facility in the Lafayette area, and will be located at 3595 Sagamore Parkway North, Suite 5.

“The Little Star Center currently operating in Lafayette is at capacity,” said Mary Rosswurm, Little Star Center executive director. “The new, location is just nine miles away, but takes about 25 minutes to get from one location to other. With Purdue University extending ABA therapy coverage to its staff in 2016, our board and leadership team know more families will seek out services for children impacted by autism. We are ready to fill that need with a conveniently located facility for university parents.”

Information sessions for parents

The new Lafayette location, at 3595 Sagamore Parkway North, Suite 5, is scheduled to open in January, 2016. Information sessions for parents will be hosted:

  • At Four Points by Sheraton-West Lafayette, 1600 Cumberland Ave
  • Monday, Oct. 26, 6 to 7:30 p.m., and
  • Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 to 10:30 a.m.

Families seeking information about applying for ABA services at Little Star Center also can email   Victoria Blessing Wade.

New center creates new jobs

Jobs are available at the new Lafayette center. Current openings include an assistant clinical director and therapists with a background in education, child psychology, special education, speech sciences and child development. Experience with autism or ABA is preferred. Job descriptions are online.

Little Star Center is a non-profit that raises funds to support families when insurance challenges surrounding ABA therapy arise. Little Star Center Board President Bill Bower says, “We were pleased to have Little Star Center families work with Purdue University as it considered expanding its benefits coverage to Purdue University employees. Yet we know there are times when families encounter insurance challenges. Our scholarship program helps families continue services by bridging that financial gap. We’re the only ABA facility in the state to provide this type of scholarship support and proud to be 100 percent non-profit able to do it.”

Little Star Center, with centers in Carmel, Lafayette and now Bloomington, is Indiana’s first applied behavior analysis center founded in 2002 is focused on providing a place where kids with autism learn to live in the world and parents learn they are not alone. Little Star services Hoosier families providing in-home and center-based ABA therapy, along with transition to school and community-based programs for children and families. Statistics show autism is one of the most rapidly growing developmental disabilities in the United States with one in 68 children diagnosed each year. Operating as a non-profit, the organization raises funds to support learner scholarships for families who find themselves in need of a safety net when insurance challenges arise. To learn more about the organization review this website.