Our Attendance Policy 

ATTENDANCE & CANCELLATION POLICY

We understand that your child's development is crucial to you, and we want to help you achieve success in this area. One of the most important things you can do to support your child's progress is to ensure attendance in therapy. Please make it a priority to commit to consistent attendance for your child's benefit. Thank you for your dedication to your child's success!

We understand that unexpected events can happen, which may cause you to miss your appointment. We want to be understanding and work with you as much as possible. Similarly, our therapists may need to cancel appointments from time to time. We will do our best to provide you with advance notice of any cancellations and offer you the option to reschedule your appointment, if possible. If you need to miss an appointment for medical reasons let us know in advance and we will work with you. Our aim is to provide the best care while being fair and accommodating.

Please keep in mind that if you need to cancel a session, we kindly ask that you do so with at least 3 hours notice. This will allow us to offer a time slot to another patient who may be in need of care. In the event that you are unable to provide 3 hours notice, we will have to mark it as an unexcused absence.

***For those who have early morning appointments, you can leave us a voicemail at 918-893-3735.

• Our No SHOW/CANCELLATION POLICY (which is signed as part of your intake paperwork) states that 2 NO SHOWS or 3 unexcused absences (within a 2 month period) will result in your child’s attendance being reviewed by our leadership team and possible removal from the schedule. You will be offered the option of a Flexible Schedule (Call in) program should you be found in violation of the policy.

• *** Absences (excused and unexcused, not ‘no-shows’) will not be counted against your attendance if they are rescheduled within the same week.

It's important to keep in mind that if your child experiences frequent seasonal illnesses and needs to cancel therapy sessions, the clinic staff may need to make a decision about their schedule. Depending on the circumstances, they may be placed on the Flexible Schedule Program. Once they are consistently healthy, they may be able to return to a spot on the consistent therapy schedule, if one is available.

Glossary of Terms

Excused Absences:

• Vacation with a predetermined date of return

• Another medical appointment (with Dr. note or receipt of attendance)

• Other extenuating circumstances reviewed and approved by our leadership team.

• ER or hospital stay with notes.

• Some illnesses (we want to keep our staff and your child healthy) Example: if your child is sick, please call to cancel. If 2 or more sick cancellations are within a 2-month timeframe we will ask for a doctor’s note to allow for excused absences. It is important that your child is seen by their physician with repetitive illnesses.

Unexcused absences:

• Less than 3 hours notice of cancellation

• Oversleeping

• Forgetting about appointment

No-Show:

• Not arriving for scheduled therapy session(s)

• Calling to cancel after the session has already started.

Weather Anxiety

• If you or your child suffers from anxiety regarding the weather, please note that we can accommodate your appointment virtually at the scheduled time or within the same week if available. Virtual sessions and reschedules will not be marked as an unexcused absence. Missing the appointment due to weather without makeup is unexcused.

Flexible Schedule Program:

When you are placed on the FSP, you can call the office each week to preschedule appointments for the next week. Or, when we get a cancellation on the schedule, we may contact you to see if you can come in/bring your child in for therapy that same day. If you cannot come in/bring your child, we will try again the next time we have an opening. If you keep all scheduled appointments for 4 weeks, you will be eligible to return to the permanent schedule if openings are available. Same appointment days/times and the same therapist cannot be guaranteed once you are moved to the FSP. If you no-show-no-call while on the FSP, you will no longer be eligible for rescheduling. Commitment to therapy is necessary for their improvement and eventual discharge.

Arrive on time for therapy sessions.

It's crucial that your child completes their full therapy each week to ensure progress is made. Our therapists operate on an appointment basis, starting and ending sessions promptly. This ensures that other patients receive their full weekly therapy sessions too. If you're running late for a scheduled appointment, please contact the front desk. Consistent late to appointment occurrences will result in leadership review and possible removal from the schedule or moved to FSP.

Arrive 5 minutes early to pick up your children.

It is important to be present in the waiting room when your child's therapy session is finished. Your therapist may need to talk to you about your child's performance and progress. Not being present for pick-up can cause the next patient to be late for their session with the therapist and becomes a safety issue as we do not have staff coverage to watch your child. If there is an emergency (car accident or stuck in traffic) please contact our office ASAP to notify your tardiness.

Taking a break from therapy.

We know that our clients often require therapy for a long duration, often years, to meet their goals for discharge. This can lead to burnout or cause other scheduling needs.  It is okay to take breaks from therapy to meet the needs of your family. Please speak with us about taking therapy breaks as needed and we will be happy to have you return to therapy at a time that is better for you. Patients in good standing who communicate with us will be given opportunities to return to the schedule.

Thank you so much for your consideration of the hard work we do here at The Griffin Promise. Our goal is to provide the best care possible to our clients.

Thank you,

The Griffin Promise Staff & Board of Directors

8/18/2023