New autism clinic gives parents fresh, closer treatment option in Genesee County

Over the course of a month, the Burton mother said she has already seen a marked difference in her son Alexander since he began attending the Genesee Health System's new Children's Autism Center.

At home, he now listens more and helps with things such as putting his dishes in the sink. Before treatment he most likely would not acknowledge her, Prentice said.

"I think he's really benefiting from it. I've seen several changes in him at home," Prentice said. "It's nice to feel like somebody's on your side."

With an estimated 1,000 school-aged autistic children in Genesee County, the Children's Autism Center is expected to help nearly 100 children here.

After a new benefit was added to the Michigan Medicaid system last April, the Genesee Health System began plans to create the center in a building previously used by Hurley Medical Center for physical therapy programs.

The significance of this program is great for young children with autism here, said Lauren Tompkins, chief clinical officer at GHS and director of the center.

There are estimated to be 100 children between 18 months and 6 years old in Genesee County covered by Medicaid eligible for services offered by the center, she said. A center like this was does not exist anywhere in the county, Tompkins said. The closest one is in Novi, she said.

"Proximity is big. It provides a service that is not immediately available. There is no waiting list. ... (That age range) is a very critical window," Tompkins said. "The prevalence of autism is very high – one in 88. To have a life disability or condition with excellent treatments that were not available, not covered before (is important) ... The lasting effects are huge."

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors, according to the website.

Since opening in November, the center has 14 children in active treatment another dozen going through evaluation to begin treatment.

Although the center is not yet equipped to take on a full load of patients, growth will come throughout the year.

The 11,000-square foot building on Robert T. Longway Boulevard has two large learning rooms, a play room and 14 individual treatment rooms.

Children receive treatment anywhere from five to 20 hours a week at the center. Children get individualized treatment specific to their needs. Treatment includes helping develop better communication skills, address any behavioral problems, helping them become academically prepared or as independent as possible depending on the age of the child.

A typical treatment period last one and half to two years at the center. At home help and transitional help is still available after treatment is done or after they age out of the center.

Parents are involved early on and are required to take a 12-week training course, along with being involved with direct observation and skill development, Tompkins said.

"Children with autism often prefer a very structured environment," Tompkins said. "ABA (Applied behavior analysis) treatment is very specific. In order to move skills along you need to have a very precise way to deliver that therapy."

Amy Daleo, executive director of Autism Support & Resource Center (ASRC) in Burton, said she's so happy to see something like the center opening up in Genesee County.  If fills a much needed gap in resources in the area, she said.

"Early intervention is key. If you can get the intervention before age 6 that really can be life changing. They really are hitting those key ages," Daleo said.

While Daleo's organization offers free services, such as support group, social groups, resources and guidance, she said it doesn't offer treatment or evaluations that the Children's Autism Center provides. Before the center opened, Daleo said her group usually referred families to places in Ann Arbor.

ASRC serves over 700 people with autism and their families at a time, Daleo said. It's great to have another resource in the county to help the community, she said.

And as a parent with two autistic sons, ages 13 and 19, Daleo said she wished there would have been something like this for them when they were younger.

It was difficult trying to figure out why her children were different and why they had a hard time in social situations. At first they were incorrectly diagnosed, which was frustrating, Daleo said.

Having trained experts to help make life a little bit easier for the children with autism and their families is huge, Daleo said.

Tompkins expects it to take more than a year to serve all the eligible children at Genesee County who are eligible. They will be hiring more staff roughly every three months, she said. The center currently has 14 staff, which includes ABA technicians and mental health clinicians. Many staff members hired are graduates or students from University of Michigan-Flint, Tomkins said.

At the peak the center should have 35 or 40 staff. Outside from providing the space, Hurley Medical Center also provides consultants, speech therapists, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

Hurley Medical Center officials were also looking into providing autism services to the county at the same time that GHS was in the process of looking for a location. The partnership between the two seemed to fit perfectly, said Renay Gagleard, women and children's service line administrator at Hurley.

"There's such a need in the community and not enough resources," she said. "We were both looking at the same thing and we found each other. The space we had was perfect and jointly we were able to offer this service."

Hurley physicians are excited to partner with the center and see how it grows, Gagleard said.

Tompkins said the services should only grow.

"This has been an exciting project, just a lot of fun," Tompkins said. "We have a lot of work to do. This was a huge undertaking and we have a lot of energy behind it. We are certainly in the growing period."