Autism Clinic at Hope Committed To Giving Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Professional Care/Attention So They Can Soar

GLEN CARBON - The Autism Clinic at Hope is committed to giving children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) professional care and attention so they can soar. The recently commemorated location at 4559 Benes St. in Glen Carbon focuses primarily on preschool ages children. Presently, there are some openings at the center for anyone interested.

For more than a half-century, Hope has pursued a single mission: to help children with disabilities achieve their full potential. For decades, they have carefully cultivated a culture of hope for children, no matter how great the challenges they may face.

Hope’s Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) intervention services hits the core of helping children with autism by following one simple rule: every child is unique and the Hope team will develop individual treatment plans to best meet their needs.

Through a Preschool ABA program, children learn by playing with their peers and with small group activities. Some learn to communicate by exchanging pictures or using a speech-generating device. Others work on expanding their verbal skills.

The first Hope School opened in 1957 in a home in Springfield, IL. The founders were Dr. And Mrs. Charles E. Jordan who had searched across the country for a place to educate their daughter - Judith Ann - who had multiple disabilities. They wanted Judith to reach her full potential, but no school in the United States could meet those needs at that time. They decided to create a school to give hope to their daughter and thousands of other children with similar challenges, a chance to live healthy and productive lives.

The Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) plan activities that encourage the children to interact at the clinics. For more than a half-century, Hope has pursued a single mission: to help children with disabilities achieve their full potential. For decades, they have carefully cultivated a culture of hope for children, no matter how great the challenges they may face.

The Autism Clinic at Hope provides a unique range of services with its highly qualified and credentialed staff. The clinic has Board-Certified Behavior analysts (BCBA), Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs), and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs).

Hope officials said this about its team: “Your child is unique, and our certified Behavior Analysts will develop individual treatment plans that best meet their needs. For any plan to be successful, it needs a team of people working to achieve meaningful results.”

Hope’s team works one-on-one and in group settings to help the children be successful at home, in the classroom, and in the community.

“Our licensed therapists will work with your child to help them manage activities of daily living that most people take for granted. Whether it’s teaching them the fine motor skills it takes to tie their shoes or zip up a jacket, to helping them verbally communicate their wants and needs, they help complete your child’s unique treatment plan.”

Hope has a location at 4559 Benes St. in Glen Carbon but also has eight locations offering services across Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, and Alabama. The Glen Carbon location has openings for about 15 new clients at the present.

Through the preschool ABA program at Hope in Glen Carbon, children learn not only through one-on-one instruction but by playing with their peers and with small group activities. Some learn by exchanging pictures or using speech generating device. Others expand their verbal skills. Activities are planned to encourage the children to interact from making dirt pudding, erupting baking soda volcanoes, playing water balloon T-Ball, and much more.

Brandy Davis, a Board-Certified Behavioral Analyst, said a lot of different assessments are done to see what each specific child needs in the learning process, then execute the plan to reach results.

“Everybody is different,” Davis said. “We set each program up for the specific client. After an initial assessment, we write each client a treatment plan.”

Jodi Ogilvy, the Chief Communications and Development Officer for Hope, emphasized the Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) technique is a big key to their success. She said the Glen Carbon Hope Clinic focuses on children 18 months old to preschool age to give them the best tools they need to succeed.

“We provide them a toolbox to navigate in the world,” she said.

The Autism Clinic at Hope in Glen Carbon can be reached by calling (217) 525-8332.

Their website is www.theautismclinic.org

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