[FEAT BC Admin]

This area is for discussions in general topics.

Topic

[Stella Li]

To: Leah Van Spronsen:
Your post about fundraising event on March 3rd

Tutors in our team are interested to join but we have been unable to use the email address provided in the post. We have some questions for the organizers.

Please provide a valid email address. thanks.

[Barbara Rodrigues]

Hi:

I was wondering if I could get some thoughts on anyone who has hired a male therapist to work with their child. Our son is 11 years old now -nonverbal. Just wondering if your child responded well (we have only ever had female therapists only because that's all that has ever applied). I would also like the perspective of other therapists who have had the opportunity to work with a male therapist. Was it good for the team – was there still a team dynamic achieved, etc. Pls email me at
westernad@hotmail.com subject – male therapist

I thank you in advance for any insight/info from your experiences that you could share.

Barbara

[Lis Louwrier]

Dear Michelle:

Thanks for the tax explanation for therapists. That was clear and very helpful. I will print it out for my therapists.

All the best.

Lisbeth Louwrier

[Deleted User]

Re: filing taxes for those working on home based programs (BI's/instructors/therapists/tutors etc).

You are self-employed. You contract your services to families. As a self-employed individual, you are responsible for giving those you contract to a receipt each month, and keeping a copy for yourself. At the end of the the year, you can easily do up a yearly total from these receipts and have the family sign this.

As a self-employed individual your taxes are not deducted from your paycheck so depending on your total income, you may need to pay your taxes at the end of the year. Although this can be a slight disadvantage, the advantages of being self-employed are great.

When you are self-employed you can write off your cell phone, electronic purchases that are work related, toy purchases that are work related and other various work expenses. Track your mileage because you can make claims for this as well. If you do a significant amount of work from home you can qualify for some deductions based on your using your home as an office. You can also claim work related training workshop, conferences etc.

Hope that helps?

[JansenP]

Filing Taxes as a BI

How are other BIs/therapists filing their taxes? Are we self-employed or employees? I've done some reading on this, but I am actually more confused than ever!

It makes a big difference when I file as an employee as opposed to being self-employed so I would really appreciate any advice people can give me.

[Leah Mumford]

Attention all therapists and parents!!!

A group of lead/senior therapists are having a fundraising night for the amazing kids that we all work with. We, in partnership with AES (Autism Education Society), are fundraising to raise enough money to fund an ABA chair at a university here in BC. This would be essential to provide training for the many talented leads and therapists that are here in the Lower Mainland, as well as to prevent the "brain drain" into the US, where there are ABA Master's programs available.

This fundraising night will be held Friday, March 3, 2006 at the Aqua nightclub, located at 1066 W. Hastings. Tickets are $10, and are available at thefabagroup@yahoo.com, or, you can call to order at 1.877.338.4175. There will be door prizes as well. Please order the tickets through our group; you must buy a ticket before the event, because the proceeds for cover at the door will just go to the club. So, come out and bring everyone you know to support this worthwhile cause: where else can you drink and dance while raising money for the next generation of consultants?

Hope to see you there!

The FABA (Friends of ABA) group.

Please drink responsibly.

[Deleted User]

One more detail about FEAT of BC workshops…

Did you know that workshops presented by FEAT of BC are fundraisers for our advocacy work? Did you know that the proceeds of those workshops go towards funding various FEAT of BC activities? Did you know that the FEAT of BC executive is 100% volunteer driven by parents who currently run full time ABA programs in their homes, often work full time jobs and then spend their FREE time licking envelopes, phoning politicians, writing letters and fighting for their children?

When you attend a FEAT of BC workshop, led by myself and Theresa, you help to support the work of FEAT of BC. You allow parents to continue to have a voice to fight for their children.

We (Michelle and Theresa) want to thank you for the support you offer FEAT of BC through these workshops. Each one of our workshops this year has sold out! In fact our intermediate workshop was slightly over our intended registration numbers as a result of receiving an influx of registration through the mail a few days before the workshop.

Your registration will keep FEAT of BC strong and active. Thank you!

[Deleted User]

FEAT of BC is pleased to announce the upcoming and much awaited Senior Instructor Workshop.

This workshop is intended for those currently working as Senior Instructors/Team Leaders/Case Managers or for those who are currently training with the intention of becoming Senior Instructors. This workshop is also open for all parents running an ABA program.

Applied Behavior Analysis allows us to effectively teach new skills through the application of a scientific approach to understanding behavior. This highly effective and scientifically proven approach is not limited to teaching children with autism. In fact, we can apply this same understanding to effective team training and management.

This workshop will focus on the application of ABA to training, team management and motivation. Many senior instructors find themselves in the role of "team manager" because they have seniority or because they are willing to do the job. Many of these seniors find they can write an STO or lead a team meeting but when it comes to training and overall team management they feel unprepared. At this workshop, we will discuss and role play ways to effectively encourage our team, shape staff behavior, build team knowledge and skill levels while ensuring high quality, consistent therapy delivery. The workshop will be based on scientifically proven approaches from the literature.

This workshop uses a highly interactive format. We focus on role-playing and brainstorming as well as open discussion.

Registration can be found at http://www.featbc.org/downloads/sbtw.pdf

This workshop has been offerred privately in the past and has sold out each time. FEAT of BC is pleased to be able to bring this workshop to the community for the first time. Please register early to avoid disappointment.

Please note that:
-this workshop will not cover basic terminology or concepts. We assume a level of shared knowledge at this workshop and in order to meet the needs of the Seniors that come to our workshop, we will not be spending time reviewing terminology.
-this workshop is not intended for those who wish to strengthen their skills as line instructors or for SEA's. This workshop will solely focus on team managemetn issues.
-Parents are ALWAYS welcome at our workshops, regardless of experience. We will do our best to assist you through any areas that you are unfamiliar with.

[Raeleen Castle]

Hi! I am looking to connect with other families in the fraser valley (I am in Aldergrove) to discuss their experiences with having a child with autism. Am also currently looking for therapists and am wondering if someone has a therapist that might be interested in some more hours?! Or even some ideas as to where you found your therapists?! You can contact me by email at Rae_Den96@hotmail.com TIA for your help!

[Barbara Rodrigues]

Hi again: Just a reminder as the month is coming to an end. I hope in light of the fact that we as parents want/demand a better training system than the one being offered/forced by MCFD that we get a really great turnout for a workshop/speaker of this calibur. I encourage you to encourage all involved in your child's treatment to attend this workshop. People like Gina Green rank right up there with the very best in the ABA field – in the science of this field. It is a not to be missed workshop. Also if we do not attend these workshops and hence support those bringing these kind of quality workshops to us – they will be a thing of the past. We have to start showing up for these – this includes new parents new therapists not just the veteran parents/therapists – I understand money and time are in short supply but workshops like these are well worth the effort – knowledge is power – not only for you but for your child -for their future. I hope to see you there. This price is a great deal but only to the end of the month and only for the first 50 – so hurry.

For those already aware of this offer, sorry for the redundancy. For those who have not yet received the offer, please read the following:

Hello Parents – Some of you may know that Arbutus Coast Presentations will be bringing Dr. Gina Green to Vancouver on June 16. Gina’s presentation setup will be quite interesting; she will be speaking on 4 topics and then fielding questions and commentary from the registrants (details are on our website http://www.arbutuscoast.com). It will be a great opportunity for parents and professionals alike to directly interact with one of the most respected scientists in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

We are especially interested in making sure that parents have a reasonable chance to see Gina in Vancouver; and we are also interested in ensuring that we will have enough registrants to warrant covering our costs associated with having her presentation here – so, toward that end, we would like to offer the following exclusive price to parents and their therapists:

· For the first 50 parents and their therapists registering by the end of February the fee is $100 per person ($75 less than the regular registration cost).

· For the next 25 parents and their therapists registering by the end of March the fee is $135 per person ($40 less than the regular registration cost).

· The usual 10% reduction in registration fee for previous attendees at an Arbutus Coast Presentation does not apply for this offer.

This offer is not going to be publicized on the brochure or the website, and it is solely dependent on an honour system of registration. We do ask that the therapists (one-to-one behaviour interventionist/therapists) are, indeed working with a child diagnosed ASD, and obviously, that the parents have a child diagnosed with ASD. We know that many parents are dependent upon extended family members for care, and as such we will also recognize grandparents and other immediate family members for the reduced rate.

We are committed to bringing the best scientists to British Columbia for the sole purpose of sharing knowledge; we hope that you will support us in this endeavour.

Yours truly,

Larry Uhlin & Nancy Pike

Arbutus Coast Presentations, Inc.
2183 Malaview Avenue
Sidney, British Columbia
V8L 2E6
250-655-4999
250-655-4989 FAX
250-882-1116 Cellular
http://www.ArbutusCoast.com

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