Ascent December 2019

The Summit center’s monthly newsletter

In this issue:
PRO tips: feeding during the holidays
The holidays are upon us! The time of year where
most people spend quality time, including meals,
Rite aid foundation
with family and friends. While it is an exciting time
grant of year, the events that come with the holiday
season can be challenging and frustrating for some
poinsettia & wreath sale parents, and even more so for parents of a picky
eater. Not only is the thought of what your child is
giving tuesday recap going to eat during meals stressful, having to
justify why your child doesn’t want to eat grand-
thanksgiving feast ma’s delicious mashed potatoes can be just as
anxiety provoking! Below are some tips to help you and your child get through this holiday season!
staff recognition
ceremony Prepare Ahead of Time and Practice. Children, especially picky eaters, often need to be exposed to a
new food multiple times before they begin to consume the food on their own. For these children, it is helpful
to introduce them to some of the holiday foods they will be exposed to a couple of weeks prior to the actual
s.t.e.p.s. decorating holiday event. When presenting a new food, we encourage parents to start by presenting a small
piece of the food as opposed to a placing a whole portion of a new food on their dinner plate. Once the
dibella’s miTTEN drive child is comfortable and accepting small amounts, gradually increase the size of the bite or portion of the
food.
help children find their
voice Feed Your Child Before. While the holiday season can be overwhelming for parents, it also can be over-
whelming for the child too. Oftentimes, the holiday season means consuming meals out of the home
with family members and/or people the child does not see often. For a picky eater, these changes can
cause a lot of stress. Stress and anxiety suppress appetite, which ultimately decreases the likelihood that
the child will eat during the meal. Feeding your child preferred foods before the main meal will increase the likelihood the child will eat
something and eliminates pressure on the parents and child. Then during the main meal, have the child sit with the rest of the family and present
them with a small amount of the foods the rest of family is eating. If they do not eat them, that’s okay!

Bring a dish your child will eat. Picky eaters do better when there is something familiar on their plate. Including a preferred food with a novel
food often decreases anxiety in picky eaters and increases the likelihood that they will eat something during the meal.

Relax. Holiday meals are not the best time to introduce your picky eater to a new food. You may offer your child a food the rest of the family is
eating, but do not pressure them to eat the food if they do not want to. Doing so, will just create more stress during the holiday season. If your
child tries a new food, provide lots of praise and positive attention. If family members make comments or offer suggestions, simply listen and
move on! Happy Holidays!

Pro Tips provided by Dr. Jennifer Felber, Director of The Pediatric Feeding Clinic at The Summit Center

Summit Holiday Show

Another year, another great holiday show! Thank you to
Creative Arts Teacher, Kelly Bova, and our classrooms at
Summit Academy for putting on a great show filled with
music and dancing.

Click the video on the left to watch Summit student Teddy

play “Joy to the World” on piano.

150 Stahl Road | Getzville, NY 14068

www.thesummitcenter.org
716.629.3400
info@thesummitcenter.org
the rite aid foundation graNTS SUMMIT $5,000
The Rite Aid Foundation has generously supported The Summit Center with a $5,000
grant as part of its Full of Thanks holiday program. This grant will be used to support
the many programs and services at The Summit Center.

The Rite Aid Foundation created this special holiday program to help more than 400
KidCents partner charities across the country to advance their efforts to improve the
health, safety and well-being of children in their communities. In total, The Rite Aid Foundation is donating nearly $2.1
million this year through its Full of Thanks holiday program.

“Our KidCents partner charities embody Rite Aid’s commitment to be a caring neighbor in the communities we serve.
There is no better time than Giving Tuesday to show our appreciation to these organizations for all they do throughout
the year,” said Jessica Kazmaier, president of The Rite Aid Foundation Board of Directors and chief human resources officer
for Rite Aid.

Thanks to partners like The Rite Aid Foundation, Summit can continue its work making a difference in the lives of children
in our communities in the new year.

Poinsettia & Wreath sale Thanksgiving feast

Thank you to the Parent Working
Group volunteers who helped with
The Summit Center’s Poinsettia &
Wreath Sale on Monday, December
9 and Tuesday, December 10. Thank
you also to everyone who
purchased a beautiful holiday
plant. We raised more than $1,900
in support of Summit!

Giving tuesday raised more

than $4,000 for expeditions

Students at Summit Academy enjoyed a

We’re going on five field trips! With an original goal of $2,500, The
celebrating our successes
Summit Center surpassed that goal by raising more than $4,000 in
support of the Expeditions Respite Program. Thanks to the amazing
generosity of 47 donors on Giving Tuesday, children in Expeditions
will go on five fully-funded field trips next year.
long-standing tradition of the Thanksgiving
Feast on Wednesday, November 27. Turkeys
were donated through the generosity of
staff and students prepared side dishes with
the help of their classroom teams.

“We are absolutely thrilled and so grateful for the support. These Our compliments to the chefs!
community outings mean so much to the kids we serve,” said Diana
Schmit, Direct of Adult and Community Divisions.
summit staff service awards
35 Years

Elizabeth LaPorta

30 Years

Jacqueline Doran
William Lepsch

25 Years
Thank you to the Summit employees listed on this page for their years of service to Summit!
Mary Milazzo The success of our children and young adults is only possible because of people like them who
Gretchen Abdulla are dedicated to excellence and united in providing the highest quality programs and
services possible. These employees were also recognized at a Service Awards Reception on
20 Years Tuesday, December 17th.

Elizabeth Gengo Employee spotlight

Mary Belile
Sharon Zielkiewicz Jackie Doran, an Administrative Services Program Assistant in
Amy Jablonski the Education Division, has worked at Summit for 30 years!
Amy Oliver
how has summit changed in 30 years?
15 Years
Everyone knows the Summit of 2019, but there are so many things that
Cory Miller 5 Years have changed since 1989. We had less than 100 school-age students
Francesca Hill enrolled and only a few preschool students. We embraced the term
Ellen Spangenthal Benjamin Goldberg “multi-tasking.” The receptionist and main office personnel processed
David Meichenbaum Erin Meskill transportation. The HR Department was a single person who was also the
Kristy Bozek Ashley Schneegold Finance Supervisor. The Director and clerical staff of our Social Work
Frank Kiebzak Esterina Sessa Department also functioned as our IT staff. Computer use was not yet
Kristin Dion Jenna Eberle
mainstream and believe me, we were not happy if we ran out of carbon
Dawn Giuliana Sarah Palazzolo
Andrew Renkas
paper or correction film. Thank goodness for modern technology!
Antoinette Tilton
Kelly Bova Lorrayne Price Do you have a favorite memory from your
Lauren Roehner
Pamela Giangreco-
time at summit?
Marotta Before we moved to Stahl Road, I assisted with an evening parent
Sara Baker group. Co-workers and I engaged a number of students while their
10 Years Allyson Matlock parents were in session. What an eye-opening and emotional experi-
Rachel Beilein ence this evening proved to be! Driving away, I hadn’t even reached the
Mimi Salas Megan Bieleck end of the parking lot when I broke down in tears. I thought of the kids,
Carol Shaw Christine Ray their parents, and our staff and their interaction, conviction, compassion
Scott Banach Ashlee Durusky
and teamwork. This one evening gave me a new perception, apprecia-
Megon Gachette Jennifer Felber
Shannon Tranzillo Heather Williams
tion, respect and understanding of my workplace.
Diane Brennan Allison Wasneechak
Katie Cline Jaileen Carrasquillo
why have you chosen to stay?
Cory Hellerer Deborah Murak Thankfully, I turned my job into a career at Summit. It’s sort of like buying
Erin Meyer Kelly Brown a starter house and thinking I’ll only be here a couple of years and then
Michael Baker Melissa Frys I’ll move on. But as the years pass, that starter house becomes your
Melissa Dorgan forever home, filled with family, friendship, love, and memories. How
could I possibly leave?

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 s.t.e.p.s. tree decorating
Participants in S.T.E.P.S. North Tonawanda decorated a
holiday tree at the Niagara Power Vista for visitors to enjoy
throughout the month of December. Participants worked hard
on creating all of the ornaments, including the
tree topper. Great work!
Get your tickets!
The Summit Center is a proud sponsor of WNED Kid
Fest on Saturday, February 8, and Sunday, February 9.
This fun-filled family weekend takes place at the
WNED | WBFO studios in downtown Buffalo. Tickets are
$10 for an adult and $8 for a kid.
Get your tickets at wned.com today!
holiday cheer
Wow, check out all those gifts
donated to our Holiday Cheer
program! Thanks to the amaz-
ing generosity of the Summit
community, Summit families
who need a little extra help this
holiday season will be taking
home some wonderful pres-
ents. We can't thank you all
enough!
celebrating our
succeses
This is Bobby! Bobby created a shopping list for his
classroom at Summit Academy and was able to
locate all of the items on his list in the store. He
then independently scanned all grocery items at
the self-checkout and placed them in the bag.
Congrats, Bobby! We’re so proud!
Last minute
holiday shopping?
Summit is a beneficiary of Amazon Smile! When you
shop on AmazonSmile a portion of your purchase will
be donated back to Summit. Make your purchases on
Amazon Smile and designate “The Summit Center” as
your charity of choice.
https://smile.amazon.com
Thank you Dibella’s!
Thank you to our friends at DiBella’s on Union Road
in Cheektowaga for collecting gloves and hats for
our Summit families this winter! We are so lucky to
be a part of a generous and supportive community!
Would your organization like to support Summit? Fill
out a Summiteer application here.
Help Children Find Their Voice
Imagine being unable to communicate basic emotions and needs:
hunger, thirst, fear, and more. Often, children with autism are unable to
speak. As many as 50% of the individuals we serve at The Summit
Center are nonverbal.

You can provide the life changing gift of a voice to a child with autism.
Whether it is through verbal communication or digital speech, the ability
to communicate leads to greater independence. A donation to The
Summit Center will support important programs that help children with autism to be confident and self-sufficient.

Did you recently read about Max’s story? Max is a teenager at our school, Summit Academy. He recently learned to speak
at the age of 18. Through his perseverance, and the staff’s expertise and patience, Max was able to develop the necessary
language skills to ask for what he needs.

There are thousands of kids in Western New York who can achieve their full potential with special attention and therapy
from The Summit Center. With you on their side, they will build communication skills, self-help skills, and positive social
skills. These vital skills give individuals with autism the opportunity for independence and life success.
As 2019 comes to a close, we need your gift to support children like Max. Your investment in children with autism will
help them to forge a path to success.

With gratitude,

Featured student
artwork
This beautiful Buffalo piece was featured
Stephen R. Anderson, PhD. in our holiday card and was made in our
Chief Executive Officer Creative Arts class through a collaborative
effort of Summit Academy students
Maeve, Luke, Rowan, Liam, Kameron, and
Jace.
Happy holidays
from room 301!
Some merry little elves were
spotted in Ms. Erin’s room at
Summit Academy! Happy
Holidays from all of us here at
Summit.

With a staff of 500 professionals and expertise in autism and social/emotional development, The Summit Center is
Western New York’s leading provider of evidence-based educational, behavioral health, adult, and community
programs to 1,700 children and adults each year with developmental, social, and behavioral challenges.

This newsletter was written and designed by Marketing Communications Coordinator, David Goodwin. Feedback is
appreciated. Please email dgoodwin@thesummitcenter.org.

www.thesummitcenter.org