ASPB Therapy Pathways Opens Its Doors in Naperville to Help Families Impacted by Autism

(Naperville, IL) With a commitment to helping families whose young children are affected by autism and other developmental disabilities, ASPB Therapy Pathways recently opened its Naperville center to offer specialized pediatric services.

Kiya Olson, ASPB’s owner, a licensed professional counselor and board certified behavior analyst, explained that the agency has been providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and other developmental therapies for in-home programming since 2007. Its board certified behavior analysts, child development specialists and state credentialed development therapists provide therapy services and education to families with children of special needs such as autism.

Citing a recent report from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 59 American children has autism. This new figure shows a 15 percent increase from two years prior and an 150 percent increase since 2000.

“I would say that 90 percent of the population we see have a diagnosis of autism,” Olson said. “However, we also work within Illinois’ Early Intervention Program and therefore we see a lot of kids with various different needs.”

Olson explained that what makes the center different that it is specialized for pediatrics and has clinicians who are specially trained in autism, ABA and child development. The center accepts children from birth through adolescence for in-home programming and youngsters ages 2 to 6 for its Early Intensive Behavorial Intervention (EIBI) program.

“We take the time to get to know each individual child and their parents,” Olson said. “We then create programs and goals that emphasize developmental milestones. The goal is to create a foundation from which the children can continue to grow and build upon for years and years to come.”

In her experience, she finds that children who are diagnosed with autism need intensive early therapeutic intervention at a young age. Her center gives these children critical opportunities to work on their social and self-help skills that will make a dramatic difference in their growth.

“Our center is set up so that they can practice a variety of skills,” she said. “We work on self-help skills. For example, children learn how to feed themselves as they go to the snack room. For social emotional development, the children learn how to take turns and wait for their peers; engage in communication with a variety of individuals and attend and interact with others through play.”

As an optional service, the center also offers a monthly support group to families. Olson encourages families to consider joining this group as a way to network.

“I think it’s something that is so key for families to identify and relate to others who are going through something that is unique,” she said. “A lot of times, parents need someone else to rely on and who understands the things that they’re going through.”

Olson knows that starting this specialized therapy at a young age, will produce positive benefits.

“We want to be able to lay these foundations down for development so that hopefully, as research shows, they will not need as much support in the future,” Olson said. “If you give them the foundation that they need to learn and the intensive therapy while they’re young, then they’re going to have better outcomes when they’re older.”

About ASPB Therapy Pathways:

The mission of ASPB Therapy Pathways is to provide individualized family-centered services in order to have an optimal environment for individuals and families impacted by autism. ASPB Therapy Pathways believes that it is important to look at the functioning of the child and the entire family system. Both family and clinicians then implement plans. For more information, visit www.autismserviceprovider.com or call 630-548-0749. ###