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ED Update
Dear Families and Friends of Firefly,
As we close out this month, I reflect on the fact that I have been a Firefly for 1 year. One year can be a very long, or short duration of time depending on how that is defined. In 1 year, 54 million people are born, 24 million people die, 111 million computers are sold, 43 million bikes are made and 20 million cars are made. Here at Firefly, we also did some big things, but that are not necessarily highlighted in millions. We taught a young boy to walk. We potty trained tens of our kiddos, We increased vocabularies by hundreds of words. We brought services to the Western Slope of Colorado. We hired some amazingly talented clinical and administrative staff. We invested in iPads for every one of our teachers and therapists. We remodeled 9 areas within our building and landscaped our exterior. We hired 3 Ph.D./BCBA-Ds. We served 30 more children than the prior year. We are working with 2x as many insurance companies and school districts than the prior year. We rolled out a 401k plan for our employees and created an employee support program. We now provide Continuing Education Units for professional development for BCBAs. We also celebrated serving your children and families for 10 Glorious Years this year. I encourage you to reflect on how successful this past year has been for you and your family. We are honored and proud to support you and our community. Our Dream is Big. Our Work is Important. The Reward is Priceless!
 Can't to Can - Kiddo Accomplishments
- A student consumed his lunch in 23 minutes! A goal we have been working towards for a few months (reducing his duration to consumption for lunch foods)
- A student is experiencing success in putting on his own socks and shoes in two minutes or less for each set (socks two min, shoes two min)
- A student in the ladybug room is starting to distally point (across the room) to indicate his preference of items/to indicate a request.
- A student in the caterpillar room no longer needs a token board to participate and remain in group activities, he has learned how to do it on his own (for 5 minutes at a time!)
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Upcoming Firefly Events:
Celebrating 10 Years
It's Our Birthday And you are invited!!!!
SAVE THE DATE : FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 20TH 6:00-9:00 PM
WHERE: THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF DENVER
We are celebrating 10 years of amazing work that Firefly has done for Autism. We would like the opportunity to share with you the direction of our next 10 years and how we are looking to serve the undeserved in all rural communities in Colorado.
This is a night for families living with Autism to come, celebrate and enjoy a night out as a family. The Children's Museum of Denver is making accommodations throughout it's space to ensure that children with sensory issues can participate and enjoy an evening with the family.
This is Free to all families living the experience of being impacted by Autism.
For more information and to RSVP visit our Blacktie event site by clicking here:
Light up the Night for Firefly
OCTOBER 29TH 5:00-10:00 PM
THE DENVER POST BUILDING (101 W COLFAX AVE)
Join us for a night of music, food and fun. Sponsored by The Mount Evans Masonic Lodge of Denver #7, and The Webb Group (Denver's Former Mayor). There will be appearances by many Celebrity Athletes and enjoy music brought to us by Classical Pianist and Composer Alex Burse.
For more information and to RSVP visit our Blacktie event site by clicking here:
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Sibling Tree
Sibling Tree supports the siblings of people with special needs. They hold their support groups here at Firefly Autism every other Saturday from 9-11 AM starting September 7th. This will be a six week session. If you are interested in signing your sibling up, please contact Sandra Tucker at (720) 840-3001 or at sandra@siblingtree.org. We look forward to meeting all of our new siblings!
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Volunteer Opportunities
Looking for a rewarding experience with an organization committed to changing can't to can for children with autism while improving their quality of life? Firefly Autism is looking for caring people to join our family of volunteers.
We Have a few upcoming fun events that we could use an extra hand to make happen. Our 10th Birthday, as seen in the article above, is going to be a blast! Firefly is looking for approximately 10 volunteers to help with set-up, registration, clean up and other general support...if interested, or with questions, send an email with your name, contact information and what you're interested in helping with to
Volunteers interested in long-term commitments will be required to submit a background check. All volunteers must be at least 18 years old to volunteer.
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Firefly's Wish List
Looking for an easy way to help out our kiddos? Consider purchasing one of the items below for our programs. It's easy and greatly appreciated by both our team and kiddos!
Needs: gently used iPods and iPhones; gift cards for staff appreciation; yoga mats; bean bags, paper towels, Anti-microbial Hand Soap, Hand Sanitizer, AAA Batteries, Disney DVD's, School supplies; pencils, markers, crayons, paint etc.
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ACE Scholarships Denver
Every child deserves a great education.
ACE Scholarships is committed to helping low-income parents provide that opportunity to their children.
ACE is a Denver, Colorado non-profit focused on low-income scholarships and school choice programs. Through charitable contributions from private citizens, corporations and foundation, they raise funds to provide partial tuition scholarships to low-income children in grades K-12 so they may attend a quality private school and get the head start they need to be successful beyond high school - in college, in their career and in life.
ACE has partnered with Firefly to support 5 students with the education they deserve. Thank you ACE for making this education possible for our kiddos!
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Volunteer Advisory Board Firefly Autism's Western Slope Behavior Services has been blessed to have a strong group of community leaders to provide guidance, input, and direction for our efforts to "give back to the community" and initiate a "social enterprise" effort. The focus of the Advisory Board is to help raise funds that will be used to create educational programs that will help under-served families in the community. These will include workshops, seminars, and even a "Mini-Camp" idea for parents. We'll also make available our BCBAs to train other service providers and groups and be a resource to the community. For more information about the Volunteer Advisory Board, contact Dan Hugo at dhugo@fireflyautism.org.
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Thank you to Rita Coltrane and Signature Interiors, for sponsoring Firefly Autism to receive email marketing from Constant Contact, through their Cares4Kids program.
Rita recognizes the relevance of this program to Firefly
Autism and initiated sponsorship to enable the ongoing
delivery of Sparks to our friends and families.
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About Us
Thank your customer, tell them how valuable they are to you, but don't go overboard. Insincerity is easy to spot.
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Thanks to our sponsors including:
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Additional Resources
In line with our vision of a world where the lives of children with
autism,their families and communities, are transformed through
learning, please find resources on this page to help you and your
family towards a brighter future.Look under the "Forms and Information" tab for more information about and resources on autism.
For more information about the HIMAT law
http://autismcolorado.org/index.php/himat
For more information about insurance coverage for autism,
http://www.ncsl.org/?tabid=18246
For more information about autism and the Early Start Denver Model
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/125/1/e17
Potential income tax benefits for families with special needs children
journalofaccountancy.com
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