Lauren's Institute for Education

12/08/2020

Our Transition To Employment (TTE) crew designed shirts together to wear on Fridays when they do the LIFE bucks store. These all-stars make an incredible team and are learning some amazing skills to better their community.

12/04/2020

Lauren’s Institute For Education (L.I.F.E.)

Laurens Institute is excited to announce we are now a featured organization on Accessibility.com! This is a brand-new website that aims to be an essential resource for people in the disability community.

Providing multiple services including a private academy, after school and summer programs, behavioral programming and support, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, feeding therapy, music therapy, aquatic therapy, adult day treatment, transition to employment training, and communit...

12/01/2020

In the spirit of assisting others on this Giving Tuesday, Arizona Tuition Connection is excited to announce that they will match any donation received on Tuesday, December 1st, with a tuition scholarship of the same amount to assist a student with financial need. Go to https://www.arizonatuitionconnection.com/ today to make an impact, and recommend Laurens Institute For Education. Call our CFO Justin at 480-621-8361 x103 with any questions for help on how to take advantage of this.

11/27/2020

Happy Black Friday everyone! Reminder you can make an impact while you shop for Black Friday deals.
Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/20-5959213 and AmazonSmile will donate to Laurens Institute For Education, at no cost to you.

11/20/2020

You can make an impact while you shop for Black Friday deals. Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/20-5959213 and AmazonSmile will donate to Laurens Institute For Education, at no cost to you. This program has raised over $500 this year already just from people like you doing their shopping this way.

11/18/2020

Good causes helping good causes! Help us spread the love.

11/17/2020

Our incredible, amazing, resilient, radiant Lauren turned 20 over the weekend! She is no longer a teenager. With every birthday we pause and count our blessings and marvel at the gift she brings us. Especially in these difficult times, we have to celebrate these victories. We would not be here without Lauren and so many lives are impacted by her story every day. Happy Birthday Lauren! We love you!

11/03/2020

Special Olympics Young Athletes: Let's Play Together

L.I.F.E is starting our venture to become a Unified Champion School with the Special Olympics with their Young Athletes Program. Ms. Sara Bright our recreational therapist will be incorporating this program into her P.E. sessions with the younger classrooms. Check out this video to learn more.

https://youtu.be/zznWFjymeN0

Highlights the power and impact of Special Olympics Young Athletes

10/30/2020

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Our staff is the best! They know how to get down and have fun, getting into the holiday spirit to help spread some cheer. Wouldn't you agree?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xWucTsxRz25gcUYmH0jUtTi3rx9Qg1U4/edit

10/28/2020

Unified Champion Schools - Special Olympics Arizona

L.I.F.E. is excited to announce our new venture into becoming a Unified Champion School (UCS) with the Special Olympics. To become a UCS we must have Inclusive Student Leadership, Inclusive Sports, Inclusive Health and Whole School Engagement.

https://specialolympicsarizona.org/athletes/unified/unified-champion-schools/

Unified Champion Schools builds on Special Olympics' values, principles, practices, experiences and impacts to shape a generation that welcomes everyone.

10/16/2020

laurensinstitute.org

We are pleased to announce that we are now contracted with both Mercy Care and United Health Care Community Plan for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). This is excellent news for our families who wanted to receive support services for their loved one that was not previously covered. With these contracts, L.I.F.E. will now be able to provide ABA services under the Medicaid model, expanding treatment options for those with a qualifying diagnosis.

For more information, please reach out to our consumer resource administrator, Monique. You can reach her at [email protected] or via phone at 480.621.8361 x127.

To learn more about this program, please visit our BPS program page on our website: laurensinstitute.org/our-programs/behavioral-support/

10/13/2020

You can make a difference while you shop Amazon Prime Day deals on October 13 & 14. Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/20-5959213 or with AmazonSmile ON in the Amazon Shopping app and AmazonSmile donates to Laurens Institute For Education.

10/12/2020

UA College of Nursing Launches Bachelor of Science in Nursing Integrative Health Program in Gilbert, Ariz.

L.I.F.E. is very excited to announce the start of a new partnership with the University of Arizona's new Bachelor of Science in Nursing Integrative Health (BSN-IH) program.

This is the first nursing program in the country to include integrative health content and interventions into its curriculum. The program promotes a“healing-oriented, whole-person approach to health care.”https://www.nursing.arizona.edu/news/ua-college-nursing-launches-bachelor-science-nursing-integrative-health-program-gilbert-ariz

At L.I.F.E., we also endeavor to foster a whole-person approach to care, support eclectic treatment approaches/interventions, and promote wellness in our staff and consumers.

Further, we saw how establishing a partnership could further both of our missions. L.I.F.E.’s mission is to provide specialized, caring, and affordable services to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and their families. By helping to educate nursing students, we are furthering this mission into the wider community. These nurses will have the opportunity to learn about L.I.F.E. language, multiple therapies, specialized education, adult programming (DTA), and behavioral programming and support (BPS). Through their time with us, they will be better equipped to provide whole-person caring services to their patients with disabilities and their families. Further, our hope is as our partnership develops, higher-level nursing students will be able to come to campus and provide services to L.I.F.E. such as vision or hearing screenings. This would provide an enhancement to our transdisciplinary approach.

As always safety remains our number one priority. These students will go through a health screen and follow our extensive safety policies.

We are very excited about this new program and the potential for both of our organizations!

In fall 2019, UA Nursing will advance its commitment to integrative health when it begins offering a new Bachelor of Science in Nursing pathway devoted to blending conventional health care with complementary approaches to mind-body-spirit wellbeing.

08/27/2020

Behavioral Support (BPS)

In our continued efforts to strive for excellence in our field, LIFE was recently awarded an extended two year accreditation for our Behavioral Support department from BHCOE. This accreditation sets our program apart as one that meets an assortment of clinical and administrative standards as determined by an independent third party evaluator. We are very proud of our team, their efforts, and this certification. For more information on this, check out the information in the program section of our website.

https://laurensinstitute.org/our-programs/behavioral-support/

Behavioral Programming and Support Our Behavioral Programming and Support (BPS) department provides comprehensive Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) services using the most up-to-date best practices in the field of behavior analysis. What is Applied Be...

08/14/2020

LIFE Academy Day During the Pandemic

We have been working so hard to create the safest environment we can to prepare for the new school year. We are very excited to have a chance to see some more of our friends. We hope everyone has a positive and safe start next week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWjTQsNcSxY&feature=youtu.be

Your child’s day at LIFE Academy from beginning to end.

07/24/2020

Lauren’s Institute for Education is proud to support the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 30th Anniversary!

On July 26th we celebrate this important civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else!

Check out this amazing series on how the ADA has impacted people for the last 30 years: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/disability-ADA-30-anniversary.html

Check out on Netflix: Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution “A groundbreaking summer camp galvanizes a group of teens with disabilities to help build a movement, forging a new path toward greater equality.” 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes!

Celebrate with us by visiting: www.adaanniversary.org #ADA30 #ThanksToTheADA

07/10/2020

Our staff work hard first and foremost to best serve our families, but they also have fun and spread positivity where they can. Lately some of our staff have taken to creating Tik Tok videos to share with the team. We thought this one was too good not to share with you all too! #spreadpositivity

06/11/2020

For those of us that are doing more online purchasing these days, did you know AmazonSmile customers can now support Lauren's Institute for Education in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones? Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.
1. Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device
2. Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into 'Settings'
3. Tap 'AmazonSmile' and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process
If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app, update your app.

06/02/2020

It felt great to be able to open more services back on campus yesterday, and we are so proud of our staff and clients who have worked so hard and done so amazing with the new health and safety checks entering the property. Thank you everyone who made these first couple of days a success!

05/04/2020

We at LIFE have a pretty incredible group of teachers and paraprofessional staff. We want to take today to send our appreciation to these wonderful people! Their hearts are huge and their commitment to our students in the Academy cannot be found anywhere else. They are always there for their students and although they are not physically near them this year, they have gone above and beyond to continue to teach and support them. We love and appreciate all the teachers and staff of the LIFE Academy.

04/30/2020

New Climbing Wall is Up!
Our new climbing wall we raised funds for at the Run, Walk and Roll is now up! Thank you to everyone who made this a reality from donors to our maintenance crew! The grips are repositionable and the wall is magnetic/dry erase and it comes with magnet letters/numbers and a book of tons of educational activities. So excited to see all our consumers trying this new wall out!

04/24/2020

We are all making such huge adjustments to our lives right now, and it can feel overwhelming. Just imagine how our kids must feel. Especially those who depend on consistency to feel safe. Our amazing therapists and teachers made social stories to help our consumers understand. This one is just an example, but don't you feel like we can all use this reminder? We hope you all have a great weekend!

04/22/2020

Ms Margarets Read Alouds

For those of you who know our CEO Margaret, she is all about the kids. That is why she started L.I.F.E. and it is what continues to drive her. Even though Margaret’s days look different now, she always finds time to spend with the kids. During this Pandemic she cannot do that on campus as usual. Fortunately for us, Ms. Margaret is the best at creating new opportunities. Enter her new YouTube channel hosting virtual read alouds for her friends to watch. We hope these bring some joy to your day!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHNiroVmfs8XEykgwHcOd5w

From my home to your home, lets read together!

04/17/2020

Thank you everyone who donated and helped spread the word for our AZ Gives Day campaign. We raised over $4,000 dollars! Double what we raised last year. We are so grateful for the generosity to support L.I.F.E. during this difficult time. If you donated you will be receiving an official thank you letter from L.I.F.E.

04/14/2020

Arizona Tuition Connection - Supporting Education in Arizona

For those of you who have not yet submitted your taxes for 2019, please consider helping us by participating in the AZ Private School Tax Credit Program, and please share with your friends and families. Together we can tap into the state budget and bring more of it to this amazing program that helps so many kids get the education and support they deserve.

Tomorrow is the last day you can submit your donation through one of our partners in the tax credit program, even if you are waiting to submit your taxes with the extended deadline. Please visit https://www.arizonatuitionconnection.com/ or https://www.topsforkids.com/ or contact our CFO Justin Travillion for more information.

We used to struggle to try to find ways to start the conversation of asking people to donate and recommend funds for our family. Arizona Tuition Connection created and gave us custom brochures and video’s specifically for our family. These videos were great conversation starters with potential don...

04/12/2020

Dear Friends and Family of LIFE,

During this time, we cannot express clearly enough the number of emotions we have felt. We find ourselves in a world that has caused concern for our friends and loved ones, but also brought so many people together. Here at LIFE we believe in supporting those that need more, and this Pandemic has shown that the LIFE community has in turn supported us in a time of need. For that we will be forever grateful.

While we all adjust to our new normal, we are forced to face what we will be missing this weekend. This will be the first year since its conception that LIFE will not be hosting an Easter Egg Hunt on campus. We will not be able to see the faces of excitement, the laughter and the love that comes from such an event. It saddens us that the family we have formed must stay separated for the safety of all, but we know that as much as we miss you, it brings us joy to know that we will see you again when this is all over, enjoying everything this world has to offer.

A famous author once wrote, “Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life" and that is what we wish for all of you.

Stay safe and stay well.
On behalf of all of LIFE,
Happy Easter!

04/10/2020

We continue to be ✨amazed✨ at how our community is coming together during this time and we are so grateful for all of you. We thought what better day to share some of the “good” things that have been happening with our organization than Good Friday. Here are just some highlights of the things blowing us away right now.

Staff sewing face masks for coworkers to have to wear on campus.

Social Stories being created to help clients understand what is happening right now.

Positivity videos being shared among staff.

Margaret’s read aloud stories being recorded on YouTube for consumers to see.

Families are sending pictures of the students/clients working on goals at home.

We received over $4,000 in donations through Arizona Gives Day and other efforts.

Teachers continue to connect with students and have moved all efforts online; offering videos, resources and one on one tele-class sessions.

The intense efforts to ensure safety while on campus is amazing to see as well!

And on and on. This is a scary time with lots of bad news, but there are also so many good things happening in response. We thank you for being a part of it!

04/07/2020

Lauren's Institute for Education (LIFE)

Happy #AZGivesDay! Today is the last and biggest day of this campaign.

Please help us get the word out by sharing this link with friends and family.

You never know, it could be your quick email or post that makes it to a big donor that sees the need and believes in us and wants to help.

Your generosity already has been incredible. We are getting close to $3,000 raised. Thank you for your support during this critical time!

https://www.azgives.org/laurensinstituteforeducation

Improving quality of life for people with developmental disabilities through specialized, caring, and affordable services all under one roof.

04/01/2020

Tomorrow is Autism Awareness Day! Even though we can't all be together to celebrate, let's still find ways to show our support. Wear blue tomorrow, and share a picture in the comments so we can spread the love!