Safety Precautions

 UPDATE 8/1/2020: On a continuous effort to ensure the health and safety of all our families and staff, our office is strictly following the recommended guidelines : Anyone who has recently traveled to any of the states currently experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases, will need to quarantine for 14 days upon their return. If your family has traveled and your child has a session upon your return, please make sure to resume sessions at least two weeks from the time you return. Since the widespread outbreak of COVID-19, our team has been working hard to implement all precautions. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in helping us provide a safe environment for everyone!

We have always prided ourselves on having a clinic filled with a spirit of teamwork, comradery, and positivity. We want parents to feel well-informed about the precautions we are taking. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us or your therapist directly. To help the transition back into the clinic, we recommend parents talk to their children about what to expect.  

1) TEMPERATURES. PLEASE TAKE YOUR CHILD’S TEMPERATURE BEFORE BRINGING THEM TO THE OFFICE AND BEFORE WE COME TO YOUR HOME. WE HAVE REMOVED THE LATE CANCELATION POLICY. SO IF TEMPS SPIKE, NOSES START TO RUN, KIDS SEEM SLEEPY.. KEEP THEM HOME! WE ARE DOING THE SAME.

2) NEW DROP OFF PROCEDURE. SORRY ADULTS…OUR OFFICE IS JUST FOR KIDS!! PARENTS WILL DROP OFF THEIR CHILDREN FOR THERAPY. PLEASE CONTACT US OR YOUR THERAPIST DIRECTLY ONCE YOU ARRIVE AT THE CLINIC AND YOUR THERAPIST WILL COME GET YOUR CHILD FROM THE CAR. BECAUSE WE ARE LIMITING THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS ENTERING THE CLINIC,STAY IN YOUR CAR UNTIL YOUR THERAPIST OR A TEAM MEMBER ARRIVES TO ESCORT YOUR CHILD INTO THE CLINIC.

3) ARRIVAL AND SCREENING. UPON ARRIVAL, YOUR CHILD WILL BE SCREENED PRIOR TO THERAPY. THIS WILL PRIMARILY CONSIST OF US TAKING THE CHILD’S TEMPERATURE. IF WE HAVE ANY CONCERNS, WE WILL CONTACT THE PARENT BEFORE THEY LEAVE THE PARKING LOT. ALL CHILDREN AND THERAPISTS WILL WASH THEIR HANDS BEFORE AND AFTER THERAPY

4) ZONED TREATMENT AREA. WE ARE LIMITING OUR OFFICE TO 7 KIDS AT ONE TIME. YOU MAY SAY, “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO YOURSELF? SCHEDULING IS HARD ENOUGH LET ALONE TRYING TO DO THIS? IT’S LIKE PLAYING TETRIS.. BUT HARDER! ” WELL YOU ARE RIGHT!!!
WE TECHNICALLY ONLY HAVE 7 TREATMENT ROOMS AND WE ARE NOT UTILIZING THE GROSS MOTOR AREAS FOR MULTIPLE KIDS DURING THIS TIME. BUT DON’T WORRY. THEY CAN WAVE TO EACH OTHER, BLOW KISSES TO EACH OTHER FROM 1000 FEET APART, AND AIR HUGS CAN BE GIVEN AS MANY TIMES AS THEY WANT! ADDITIONALLY, EACH THERAPIST WILL HAVE AN ESTABLISHED PHYSICAL AREA FOR TREATMENT THAT DOES NOT OVERLAP WITH ANY OTHER THERAPIST.

5) SPECIFIC DOORS. KIDS ARE TO ENTER USING THE MAIN ENTRANCE AND EXIT THROUGH THE BACK DOOR. THIS WILL REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC COMING AND GOING.. AND IT WILL TEACH FLEXIBILITY!!

6) WARDROBE CHANGES. OUR THERAPISTS WILL BE GOING THROUGH WARDROBE CHANGES AFTER EACH CLIENT. WHY? IT’S THEIR TIME TO UNLEASH THEIR INNER MODELING SKILLS!! AFTER EACH SESSION, YOUR THERAPISTS WILL CHANGE CLOTHES SO THAT THEY WILL BE WEARING FRESH, CLEAN CLOTHES FOR THEIR NEXT CLIENT.

7)HAND HYGIENE PRACTICES. ALL CHILDREN AND THERAPISTS WASH THEIR HANDS BEFORE AND AFTER THERAPY. THERAPISTS IMPLEMENT FREQUENT, INTENTIONAL HAND HYGIENE PRACTICES IN ADDITION TO HAND WASHING INCLUDING FREQUENT USE OF HAND SANITIZER AND CHANGING GLOVES BETWEEN CLIENTS.

8)CLEANING. COMPREHENSIVE HYGIENE MEASURES ALSO INCLUDE DISINFECTING TREATMENT SPACES BEFORE NEW SESSIONS BEGIN. OUR CLEANING SERVICE CONTINUES TO CLEAN OUR CLINIC WEEKLY. IN ADDITION, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO PROFESSIONALLY SANITIZE AND DISINFECT OUR TREATMENT SPACE NIGHTLY

9) SOCIAL DISTANCING. THERAPISTS WILL ENSURE THAT CHILDREN SOCIAL DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER AT LEAST 6 FEET THROUGHOUT THEIR TIME AT THE CLINIC. HOWEVER, WE DON’T EXPECT CHILDREN TO SOCIALLY DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM THEIR TREATING THERAPIST.

10) MASKS. AS WE ENTER PHASE 4, PLEASE PREPARE YOUR CHILD TO SEE THEIR THERAPIST WEARING A SUPER COOL NEW FACE COVERING. SOME MAY CALL IT THEIR “SUPERHERO MASK”, OTHERS MAY CALL IT THEIR “PEEK A BOO” PROP! WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, I CAN PROMISE YOU THERE IS A SMILE UNDER THERE! CHILDREN ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING A MASK FROM HOME AND WEAR IT IF THEY ARE ABLE. WE REALIZE THAT CHILDREN HAVE VARIED TOLERANCE LEVELS FOR MASK USAGE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO HELP INCREASE THE TOLERANCE FOR WEARING IT, WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO!
CHILDREN WHO SHOULD NOT WEAR A MASK INCLUDE:
-CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 2
-CHILDREN WITH BREATHING PROBLEMS
-CHILDREN WHO ARE UNABLE TO REMOVE THE MASKS THEMSELVES.

11) HOME SESSIONS. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WHILE OUR THERAPISTS ARE IN YOUR HOME, THERE ARE TO BE NO OTHER VISITORS IN THE HOME DURING THIS TIME. OF COURSE THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO THIS INCLUDING NANNIES ETC. IF YOU ARE HAVING OUT OF TOWN GUESTS OR ARE UNSURE IF THE VISITOR FOLLOWS THE GUIDELINES, PLEASE CONTACT BROOKE SCHNEIDER @ BSCHNEIDER@ORANGE4KIDZ.COM.

12) SCHOOL. DON’T WORRY! ITS GOING TO BE AWESOME! WHETHER YOUR CHILD IS DOING IN-PERSON LEARNING OR E-LEARNING, OUR TEAM IS HERE TO HELP MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD CONTINUES TO PROGRESS!

SO WHAT IS OUR TEAM DOING TO KEEP YOUR KIDDOS SAFE DURING THIS TIME?

IN ADDITION TO EVERYTHING STATED ABOVE OUR STAFF HAS MANY INTERNAL RULES AND POLICIES THAT THEY MUST FOLLOW. THIS LIST IS ALWAYS BEING MODIFIED TO KEEP UP WITH THE CURRENT CDC GUIDELINES

1) STAY HOME! JUST LIKE YOUR KIDDOS, IF ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEES JUST DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT, THEY STAY HOME!! WHETHER IT BE A HEADACHE TO A TICKLE IN THEIR THROAT.. THEY STAY HOME!!

2) LIVING WITH OTHERS. IN THE EVENT THAT ONE OF OUR THERAPISTS LIVES WITH SOMEONE WHO EITHER TESTS POSITIVE OR IS IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO TESTS POSITIVE, THAT THERAPIST WILL IMMEDIATELY BE ASKED TO CANCEL/RESCHEDULE ALL SESSIONS UNTIL ALL PARTIES IN THEIR HOME RECEIVE A NEGATIVE TEST AND/OR ARE FEVER FREE FOR 72 HOURS.

3) MASKS. OUR STAFF IS ENCOURAGED TO WEAR MASKS WHEN OUT AND ABOUT. WE HAVE GOTTEN TONS OF COMPLIMENTS ON THEIR OPT MASKS AND EVERYONE LOVES THEM!

4) TRAVEL. IF ANY OF OUR THERAPISTS ARE TRAVELING OUT OF THE CHICAGOLAND AREA, THEY MUST NOTIFY BROOKE SCHNEIDER. UPON THEIR RETURN, OUR STAFF IS REQUIRED TO QUARANTINE FOR FOURTEEN (14) DAYS OR QUARANTINE FOR FIVE (5) DAYS AND OBTAIN A NEGATIVE COVID-19 TEST RESULT PRIOR TO RETURNING TO WORK. DURING THIS TIME, THEY MAY WORK REMOTELY.

5) VISITORS IN THE HOME. WHILE WE KNOW IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL OUR EMPLOYEES THAT THEY CAN NOT HAVE MEMBERS IN THEIR HOUSEHOLD AND REFRAIN FROM PUBLIC GATHERINGS, WE ARE ASKING THEM TO PLEASE BE EXTREMELY SAFE AND MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING SHOULD THEY DECIDE TO DO SO. ANYONE IN THE HOUSEHOLD THAT IS STILL WORKING DAILY AND/OR BEING EXPOSED TO LARGE GROUPS OF PEOPLE NEEDS TO BE DISCLOSE TO BROOKE SCHNEIDER AND FROM THERE FURTHER DECISIONS WILL BE MADE REGARDING WORK ELIGIBILITY.

6) COVID TESTING. ORANGE PEDIATRIC THERAPY HAS FORMED A CORPORATE ACCOUNT WITH AN URGENT CARE PROVIDER/FACILITY THAT WILL PROVIDE ON-SITE TESTING TO OUR STAFF TWICE A MONTH. THIS IS JUST AN EXTRA MEASURE TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE AND HEALTHY!

WHAT DO I DO IF SOMEONE TESTS POSITIVE IN MY HOUSE?

1) DON’T PANIC! IT WILL BE OK! FIRST BREATH AND NOTIFY OUR TEAM. SO WE CAN BEGIN INTERNAL CONTACT TRACING. CLICK HERE. ONCE THAT IS FILLED OUT, PLEASE EMAIL IT TO YOUR BCBA AND BSCHEIDER@ORANGE4KIDZ.COM

2) STAY HOME AND GET BETTER. STAY HOME. GET BETTER. DRINK FLUIDS. REST. IF YOU LIVE WITH OTHERS, PLEASE GET THE ENTIRE FAMILY TESTED. WE REQUIRE EVERYONE IN THE FAMILY TO BE FEVER FREE FOR 72 HOURS AND/OR EVERYONE TO GET A NEGATIVE COVID TEST PRIOR TO STARTING UP SERVICES AGAIN. (THE SAME IS GOING FOR OUR STAFF! (MORE ON US LATER)

3)SAMPLE COVID NOTIFICATION FORM CAN BE FOUND HERE. CLICK HERE.

4) FLOW CHARTS. CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE STAFF MAKING FLOW CHART AND COVID-19 FLOW CHART.

Helpful Links

THIS SOCIAL STORY FROM THE AUTISM RESEARCH INSTITUTE CAN BE BENEFICIAL FOR CHILDREN AS IT DISCUSSES THE VIRUS, USE OF MASK AND SOCIAL DISTANCING. CLICK HERE!

AN INCREDIBLY FUN GAME TO HELP TEACH SOCIAL DISTANCING!!

HTTPS://MARTIN-JACOB.ITCH.IO/CAN-YOU-SAVE-THE-WORLD

The best sources of additional information are the CDC (cdc.gov) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (DPH.Illinois.gov). Please check these sites frequently. While we will continue to do everything we can to maintain a safe environment, you must decide your level of comfort when bringing your child back for therapy. Orange can never make that decision for you nor can we ever guarantee a virus free environment.