On the Horizon – 02/26/2008

Horizons Developmental Remediation Center
In This Issue

We have some great information this issue!

– A Note from Nicole: Welcome!

– Idea of the Week: Have a winter picnic!

– Feature Article: What’s in a Name?

– Featured Resource: Do Something Daily Calendar

– Upcoming Events: Don’t miss out!

To keep receiving On the Horizon, please add the email address “nicolebeurkens@horizonsdrc.com” to your safe address list.

A Note From Nicole

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the first edition of our newsletter, On the Horizon.

My team and I have wanted to do this for quite a while now, and we’re really looking forward to connecting with you on a weekly basis.  You can expect articles that make you think, inspire you, make you laugh, teach you something new—or maybe a combination of all those things!  We’ll also throw in some of our favorite quotes, tips, activity ideas, and anything else we think is worth sharing.  If there are certain topics you’d like to read about, send an email to let us know.  We’ll do our best to include your ideas in upcoming editions.

Family is important to us at Horizons, and we are so proud of the clinic family that we have formed here with our clients.  By subscribing to our newsletter, you have now become a part of our Horizon’s extended family.  While we may never meet in person, we will have the opportunity to touch each other’s lives in small ways from a distance.  So, welcome to the family!  Now sit back, relax, and enjoy what we hope will be the first of many moments spent together.

Looking to the horizon,

Nicole Signature

Idea of the Week

Have a winter picnic!

Indoor Picnic
Make some foods that you normally eat in the summertime (think lemonade, hot dogs, ice cream cones, etc.) and enjoy them in the middle of winter.  Set the table with paper plates and anything else that says “summer” to your family.  You can even set out a picnic blanket on the floor and eat a meal or snack on it.  This could be a great time for sharing memories of the summer – reminiscing about things you have done in past summers, and anticipating what you might do this coming summer.  Have fun!

Feature Article

What’s In a Name?

By Nicole Beurkens

Looking to the Horizon
I realized the other day that it has now been 5 years since my husband and I first moved forward with the idea of opening a clinic for children and families.  About that same time when we began trying to think of what we would name it.  The process of making that decision ranks as second only to agreeing on names for our four children!  Let’s just say there were many ideas bounced around, and many lists were created and tossed.  It is a difficult thing to capture both purpose and personality in a name that resonates with people.

As we wrestled with this, there were two words that continued to grab us – connections and horizons.  We were driving in the car one day, and the name “Connections Center” came to mind.  I quickly wrote it down on a scrap of paper so I wouldn’t forget it.  Later that night after the kids were in bed, I sat down and Googled “Connections Center” only to find that it already existed.  For those of you who don’t know this, the Connections Center in Houston is the clinic where Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) ® was founded.  To this day I know it was no coincidence that I thought of that name.  I had not heard of RDI ® before, but had been seeking a treatment philosophy and program that addressed what I found lacking in everything else.  Suddenly, the search for a name for my new clinic had led me to the program that would later certify me and become the philosophical foundation of our clinic.

I then decided that we would use the word “horizons” in our name.  Why Horizons?

Continued…

Featured Resource

Do Something Daily Calendar

$19.95 (Per Calendar) Each day includes ideas to inspire you and your children. Calendars are assembled by clients in our EmployAbilities program. $1.00 from every calendar will be donated to FARR.

Click on the image below to visit our store!

Do Something Daily Calendar Image

Upcoming Events

Please join us!

  • Horizons Parent Education Day (for current clients only)March 8 from 10AM-4PM
  • Supporting Social Communication Development in Students with Autism – A Workshop for Speech Pathologists and Social WorkersMarch 13 from 9AM – 4PM
    Click here to download a registration form
  • Horizons Sibling Network (Sibshop)March 22 from 10AM-2PM
  • Teleseminar (for current clients only)March 18, 8:30 PM EST
  • Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) ® Program 2-Day WorkshopJune 13 and 14 in Lansing

    March 13 from 9AM – 4PM

    Click here for more information or to register.

See our Event Calendar for more details…

On the Horizon is a weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their child¹s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.

Our mailing address is:

Horizons Developmental Remediation Center

3120 68th Street SE

Caledonia, MI  49316

Our telephone:

(616) 698-0306

Our email address:

info@horizonsdrc.com

Copyright (C) 2008 Horizons DRC All rights reserved.

RDI is a Registered Trademark of Gutstein, Sheely, and Associates.