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Autism Center Services
Types of Services
Teaching kids necessary social skills for making friends, holding conversations, and acting in appropriate ways
Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy
ABA Therapy Means Results
Behavioral Therapy works by reinforcing and rewarding helpful behaviors that improve learning and communication skills.
How does it work?
ABA involves several phases, allowing for an approach tailored to your child’s specific needs.
Consultation and Assessment
First, you will consult with one of our board-certified behavior analysts (BCBA). The BCBA will ask about your child’s strengths and abilities as well as things that challenge them. They will spend time interacting with your child to make observations about their behavior, communication level, and skills.
Developing a Plan
Your child’s BCBA will use their observations to create a formal plan for therapy. Effective treatment looks different for every child, and each plan will have specific interventions that fit your child’s needs.
Frequent Evaluation
Throughout treatment, your child’s BCBA will monitor their progress and analyze which strategies are working and where your child may benefit from different treatment tactics.
What’s the end goal?
The goal of treatment depends mainly on your child’s individual needs.
However, ABA often results in children:
- showing more interest in people around them
- communicating with other people more effectively
- learning to ask for things they want (a particular toy or food, for example), clearly and specifically
- having more focus at school
- reducing or stopping self-harming behaviors
- having fewer tantrums or other outbursts
How much does it cost?
ABA can be expensive, but most people don’t end up having to pay for the entire cost out of pocket.
There are a few options that can help:
- Insurance. Most health insurance plans, including Medicaid, will cover at least part of the cost. Talk to your insurance provider for more information.
- School. Some schools will fund ABA for a child, though the school may want to do its own evaluation first.
- Financial assistance. ACNM does offer financial assistance for clients who qualify.
Mental Health Services
Parenting is tough. Parenting a child with special needs deserves its own gold medal.
Life Skill Services
Basic Living & Social Skills Training
Many children on the autism spectrum need help in learning how to act in different social situations. Many also need help learning the life skills essential to increase independence at home, at school and in the community. By introducing these skills early and building block by block, children with autism can gain the tools that will allow them to increase self esteem and lead to more happiness in all areas of life.
ACNM offers social skills/basic living group learning opportunities throughout the year. Consult the events calendar for scheduled opportunities.
Before you apply...
Parents often don’t realize that most insurance requires an official autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. If you aren’t sure how to start the diagnosis process, we can point you in the right direction.
It’s estimated that as many as 70% of kids with ASD have at least one mental health disorder, and 40 to 50% have two or more conditions, with anxiety being the most common.Â