Staff at Wesley Family Services said research has shown that early intervention services for autistic children between the ages of 1 and 7 years have led to improvements in development and skill-building.
“The brain is able to learn a lot more quickly at that age,” said Carrie Winner, Wesley’s program director for intensive behavioral health services.
Wesley officials unveiled the new Autism Center for Growth on Tuesday at their offices in Monroeville, which boasts a sensory room, a small gym and an area to meet and interact with new clients.
“We have a clinic-based applied behavioral analysis services and with the center, we can now bring kids into the clinic instead of providing services at their home,” Winner said. “It allows for more of a structured setting.”
Winner said the structure at the center mimics a school setting. Kate Pompa, Wesley’s vice president for child-family services, said it’s an ideal situation for working with autistic children to help build the skills they need to attend school independently.
“It allows us to work with kids on preparing to, for example, go to lunch,” Winner said.
Families can be referred to Wesley by a social service coordinator, but can also reach out through the company’s website or phone number.
“If any families have an indication that there’s a developmental delay with their child, they can reach out and we’ll schedule an evaluation,” Pompa said. “If this program is the best fit, we can make sure they get in here.”
Staff at the center are currently working with six clients, with two more expected to begin soon.
“Ideally, we’d like to see about a dozen kids per day, six in the morning and six in the afternoon,” Winner said.
The Center for Autism Growth will now be part of Wesley’s footprint along with its Wonderkids after-school social skills program, kindergarten and autism outpatient programs. It will focus on Allegheny County children from age 1 through the transition to kindergarten.
“We want to get kids the skills to be independent in their homes and communities,” Pompa said.
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Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.