If you need to cancel because of illness or another pressing commitment, please contact Therapy Playground through one of the following methods:
1. Call (910)423-5622 and leave a message.
2. Text your therapist at the phone number they have provided to you OR text the front desk at (910)218-9015.
3. Send a secure message through the patient portal.
You may also let your therapist know in advance about upcoming cancellations and request a makeup session. If you cancel your child’s appointments often without scheduling and attending make ups, your child’s status will be reviewed to determine if we will be discharging them from services for lack of attendance. We realize that life can be very hectic and that you often have multiple appointments to maintain. If circumstances are making it difficult for you to attend regularly, we may need to find another appointment time, decrease your child’s frequency, or take your child off the schedule until you are able to attend appointments regularly. We cannot guarantee you the same day and time slot if your child is taken off the schedule. If a vacation or surgical procedure will cause your child to miss more than two weeks in a row, they may need to be removed from the schedule so that another child may utilize that time. Your child’s health is important to us. We do not require doctor’s notes for missed sessions. If health is causing your child to miss multiple treatment sessions, consider going on hold until the child’s health is in a more stable condition. If your child has a chronic condition, we can discuss options for each case to see if Therapy Playground has the ability to meet the needs of your child or if a different setting may be more beneficial to his/her therapeutic growth and medical needs.
No Show Policy:
If you miss your appointment without contacting us to cancel at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the session, it is considered a no-show. Each discipline’s attendance will be evaluated separately, unless there is a chronic attendance problem.
• 1st No Show in 6 month period – you will receive a text from your therapist and receive a “No Show” letter via text.
• 2nd No Show in 6 month period – your child will be discharged from Therapy Playground. You will receive a discharge text.
Frequent Cancellation Policy:
If you have to cancel your sessions frequently without scheduling and attending a make up session, we may have to discharge you from services. Frequent cancels prevent children from making adequate progress in treatment. If you cannot regularly attend your appointment, we will need to either reduce frequency of services from twice to once a week or discharge your child if seen once a week. If your circumstances change and you need to be put on hold, please let us know.
• In a 6 month period, your child must attend 75 percent of scheduled sessions.
• In a 3 month period, your child must attend 65 percent of scheduled sessions.
Late Policy:
Chronic lateness is defined as being consistently greater than 5 minutes late to your sessions. Chronic lateness to appointments makes it difficult for your child to make progress in therapy. Lost therapy minutes will add up over time and will be reflected in progress reports sent to your insurance company. If your child is more than 15 minutes late for treatment, your child will be marked as a no show. If you come after the 15 minute mark, the therapist will decide if there is enough time left in the session to provide skilled intervention. If you are more than 15 minutes late to a session, the following will happen
• 1st late – your child will be marked as a no show and the late policy will be verbally restated to you.
• 2nd late in a 30 day period – your child will be marked as a no show and receive a “No Show” message via text.
• 3rd late in a 30 day period – your child will be discharged from Therapy Playground.
You will receive a discharge text.
We realize that you may encounter traffic congestion on the way to your child’s session. If you call us when you know you will not make the session on time, we will take your individual circumstances into account when deciding whether the session should be counted as a no show. Prior attendance history will be a deciding factor. If you have a history of attendance concerns, we will need to treat the chronic lateness as a pattern, rather than an exception.
If your child is discharged for attendance and you decide to re-enroll your child at our agency after a 30 day wait, you will be charged a $25 fee to reopen your child’s record. This fee covers our cost of time spent reactivating your child’s record and reprocessing the intake forms. Your child will be scheduled in the available days and times we have to offer you. You may not be able to return to your previous day, time and/or therapist.
Please be aware that our therapists are required to enforce these policies. The office staff at each location monitors the therapist’s schedules to make sure that frequent no shows and cancellations are addressed.
Also, please be aware that you are not allowed to leave the Therapy Playground property at any time while your child is in therapy. You may go outside to sit in your car, but you must remain on the premises for the full duration of your child’s therapy session. If you need to leave for any reason, please remove your child from therapy and we will cancel your session for the day. The therapist has the right to discharge your child if you leave the premises anytime during their session. If you cannot bring your child to treatment and appoint someone else to transport the child, please see the office staff at the clinic you visit so we can obtain appropriate documentation.