ATTENDANCE POLICY
We understand that unanticipated events happen occasionally in everyone’s life. In our desire to help you and your child reach your therapy goals, to be fair to all of our clients, and out of consideration for our therapists’ time, we currently have the following attendance policies:
Attendance: To ensure your child’s progress towards their goals, please make every effort to reschedule or accept alternative session options (i.e. virtual or consultation) if you need to cancel for any reason. Failure to reschedule cancellations without attempting to make alternative arrangements may result in your child being sent back to the Regional Center if attendance drops below 75% in a 90-day/quarter time frame. (Quarter = 3-month period: January 01 – March 30, April 01 – June 30, July 1 – September 30, and October 1 – December 31.)
Cancellations: If your child cannot attend his or her regularly scheduled therapy appointment due to sickness or an emergency, please cancel at least 48 hours before the appointment. If you are planning to be absent from therapy for more than two weeks, please contact the scheduler to discuss scheduling options. Absences that are not canceled before 48 hours will be considered unexcused absence. We consider an excused absence to include the following:
- Illness of child or parent
- Car troubles/accident
- Family death
- Doctor’s appointment/hospitalization
Two (2) unexcused absences within a 90-day timeframe will result in immediate removal from the schedule and your child’s case will be returned to Regional Center or your insurance provider if attendance falls below 75%.
No Shows: Clients who either forgets or consciously chooses to forget their appointment for whatever reason will be considered a “No-Show”, which is an unexcused absence.
Late arrivals: If you are late for your therapy session, the session will end at the designated time. A consistent pattern of late arrivals will result in a review of your services and a possible change in appointment time or the loss of your standing appointment.
Holidays: The office is closed in observance of several holidays, including New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Observed), President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. All closings will be posted in advance.
Therapist-canceled Appointments: If for any reason one of our therapists needs to reschedule or cancel an appointment with you due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e. illness, weather, etc.), you will be notified as soon as possible. Rescheduled appointments will be coordinated and provided based on the individual therapist’s schedule and the clinic’s staffing availability.
Substitute Therapist: Alternate therapists may provide care due to a primary therapist’s illness, vacation or scheduling conflict. All therapists covering an appointment will have access to your child’s record. We believe your child’s treatment is of the utmost importance, so we ask that you plan to attend appointments even when your regular therapist is not available.
Illness: For the safety of other children and our staff, please do not bring your child to therapy if your child is ill. If your child is ill, please call the clinic to cancel your appointment as soon as possible. Below are guidelines to assist you in deciding whether your child should attend the appointment. Children should be kept at home when they meet the following exclusion criteria:
- Temperature of 100.4 or higher in the past 24 hours.
- Conjunctivitis (“pink eye”), redness of the eye and/or lids, usually with yellow discharge and crusting.
- Bronchitis, which begins with hoarseness, cough, and a slight elevation in temperature. The cough may be dry and painful but gradually becomes productive.
- A rash you cannot identify which has not been diagnosed.
- Impetigo: red pimples, which become small vesicles surrounded by a reddened area. When blisters break, the surface is raw and weeping. Look for signs in neck creases, groin, underarms, face, hands, or edge of diaper. Diarrhea three or more times within 24 hours (watery or greenish BM’s that look different and are more frequent than usual). Vomiting within 24 hours (more than usual “spitting up”).
- A severe cold with fever, sneezing, and nose drainage.
- An unknown illness without obvious symptoms other than unusual paleness, irritability, tiredness, or lack of interest.
- A contagious disease, including measles, chicken pox, mumps, roseola, strep throat, COVID-19, etc.
While we regret the inconvenience caused by strict adherence to these guidelines, our concern for all the children dictates a very conservative approach when dealing with health matters. For scheduling needs, please call (424) 442-9129, text (323) 709-3099, or email