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Questions?
Thank you for attending the April staff meeting. Below are some meeting notes and talking points.
Jim’s time block
- Welcome back Clinical Direct Brooke Solano. You have been sorely missed by all. Baby Jude is so cute and handsome. Please keep the pictures coming.
- Congratulations to expecting mothers Jazmin and Michaela. While we never need a reason to have cake, it’s always nice when we have the chance to celebrate with our teammates and share the joy of these special milestones. Please send us lots of pictures when the time comes.
- Jim’s Background: Although I’ve been at AW for 7 months, I haven’t had the opportunity to express details about my background, why I am here and what my duties include. As they say, I have a lot of miles behind me. I mean that both metaphorically and physically. Given the fact that I am probably older than anyone on staff, I have a lot more business experience and life experience which comes with age. That business/life experience are the metaphorical miles I refer to. In terms of physical miles, I am an accomplished endurance runner having completed 5 marathons, 4 half marathons, 6 Gate River Runs and many other races of varying distances. I am also a self-published author on the subjects of running/fitness and autism. My first book “Field of Lions: A runner’s journey from obesity to the marathon” was published in 2016. I published “Hello, I am Jim: A family story of Asperger Syndrome” in 2018. I have an adult autistic son “Shane” who was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome at the age of two. I am the owner of Pop’s Boiled Peanuts and Shane works for me and is being groomed to take over Pop’s at some point. I spent 25 years in IT working for Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. I started as a Junior Computer Programmer out of college and worked my way up to Director of the Global Order Management Technology (GOMT) division where I managed a staff of a 100 employees. I left technology behind to start my own boat rental company in St. Augustine (Summer Breeze Boat Rental). Although Summer Breeze did very well, we were forced to close our doors due to a lack of operation waterfront space following the sale of the marina from which we operated. Moving on from boat rentals, I established Pop’s Boiled Peanuts in 2023.
- Office Director Position: Fate guided me to Awetism Wonderland when my wife shared a job post for Office Coordinator. As an autism advocate, I am always on the lookout for ways in which to help those with autism so the job opening at AW seemed like a very natural fit for me. My role as Office Director extends beyond the scope of my predecessors in order to fully utilize my skillset and change things for the better at AW. As Office Director, I have assumed responsibility for billing, human resources, payroll, website maintenance, cleaning and many other odd jobs that don’t pertain to the clinical department, academic department or scheduling. I approach each day with a positive mental attitude and I enjoy helping others as much as possible. If I can make things easier for the rest of our staff to tend to clients then I am happy to do so.
- Siloed Environment: While clinical and academics are both equally important, the structure of the ABA therapy process and protocols tends to lead to those involved in that process as being more siloed (isolated). It is important that everyone understand the necessity of maintaining the integrity of the client/therapist relationship but it is also key to know when certain situations may extend beyond the boundaries of ABA/Clinical. Situations arise with injuries, damaged property among others that require staff to notify a BCBA and possibly include members of the Admin Team that are not part of the clinical department. Many of these situations result in scheduling changes, parent notification and physical documentation of the incident. Communication is critical to ensure that all senior staff (BCBA’s and Admin Team) are aware of a situation so that it can be handled properly. There are many times where non-clinical staff assists with situations in the clinical department and that assistance is always available for those that request it. Senior staff want and need to be notified of events that transpire even if a staff member doesn’t require assistance.
- Teamwork: I have seen many WhatsApp messages stating that “teamwork makes the dream work” and nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone here does great work with their clients and help is given when requested. There are other times where help that is requested is not given and those requests simply cannot fall on deaf ears. Regardless of position or title, we all have a responsibility to clients and one staff members to carry our own weight and to assist as much as possible. There are instances where interpersonal relationships have been fractured due to various situations but we cannot allow such issues to impact our ability to work together for the sake of our clients. Being friends with or liking someone isn’t a prerequisite for working with them. Regardless of situations that may have occurred, we request that you all respect one another professionally. If any issues occur that rise to the level where an Employee Complaint form is required, then that is an avenue that is available and one that will be taken seriously.
- Communication: We have far too many instances of she said, she said here at AW. Too many instances of employees making comments about someone else’s performance, time off and God knows what else. I will give this free advice to everyone. If you don’t want something repeated, keep from saying it. Matters that pertain to employee performance, policy violations, hours worked, days off, client roster and others are between an employee and their manager. As such, they should be considered private and confidential and should not be shared with other staff members. It is the role of the manager to determine if/when there is an issue and how best to deal with it. Staying focused on our own performance and holding ourselves accountable should be the top priority.
- Staffing: More help is on the way. After losing 6 RBT’s so far this year, we have been blessed with the additions of Mel T, Sierra, Jadelyn, Michaela and Elisha. There are a couple of new hires in the pipeline to add to an already great team.
- Summary: I am not here to make things difficult for others. I like to think that my presence brings with it stability in the front office that may have been lacking at certain points in time. Many of the changes that have been implemented have been positive in terms of transparency and in the ability to provide a mechanism for staff to communicate issues that may be impacting them. That being said, sometimes it falls to me to tell people things they may not want to hear and to hold them accountable for compliance with company policies. If I ruffle any feathers, I assure you it is with the best interest of the company in mind. AW is a great place and Stephanie, Brooke and Nicole have assembled a great team. No matter how good we are, there is always room for improvement. I have included below some of the same material from the morning staff meeting on 4/2. The RBT contract has been added for reference. As always, please feel free to speak with me if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks…Jim
Nicole’s time block
- Supervision: When supervising, it is required that the supervisor communicate with the therapist being supervised or that they are supervising their current client.
- Client Protocol: Certain protocols are implemented for clients and adherence to these protocols is required unless otherwise directed by a BCBA.
Stephanie’s time block
- Welcome back Brooke. You were sorely missed.
- Congrats to new mom’s to be Jazmin and Michaela.
- Confirmation that Brooke is back from maternity leave but she is currently supervision from home over the next 5 weeks.
- Safety care training: Dates and times will be published separately.
RBT Contract
Employee Work Hours, Timekeeping, and Compensation
Policy revised on April 1, 2025
