OUR SERVICES
The Idaho Center for Autism, LLC provides a variety of services, including developmental therapy, Intensive Behavioral Intervention (IBI), occupational therapy, speech therapy, service coordination, educational therapy, counseling, sibling and parent support groups, advocacy and referrals and parent and community trainings.
We also offer a lending library of hundreds of books and educational materials. We are also working to expand our supply of sensory integration resources, such as weighted vests and lap pads, so that these too can be loaned out to families.
OUR APPROACH
We do not believe in the "cookie cutter" approach to treating autism. Instead, therapists are trained in a variety of methodologies and interventions so that all children receive programs that are tailored to their individual strengths and needs. We offer applied behavior analysis (ABA), discrete trial training, pivotal response training, natural language paradigms, floortime and the SCERTS model. Staff are also trained in PECS and Augmentative and Assistive Communication (AAC) devices when appropriate. We also work closely with the family and the child's other treatment providers to ensure that all programs are a good fit.
Because Autism Spectrum Disorders are so complex, all children receiving services from the Idaho Center for Autism undergo a thorough evaluation which includes (but is not limited to) gathering information about sensory integration, vision, motor skills, gastrointestinal health, sleep patterns, social skills, language, eating habits and allergies or intolerances to food or environmental agents.
We know that the children we work with are children, first and foremost. They have hopes, interests, ideas, opinions, feelings and talents that are unique to them. We recognize the importance of looking at the whole child and approaching treatment with all of these factors in mind. And we encourage, and appreciate, working closely with parents and providers involved in the child's life in order to ensure that we are incorporating all these factors into the child's care and are providing the best services possible.
We have chosen to take time and effort to try to ensure that all kids going through the intake process are carefully and purposefully matched with staff. There is no first-come, first-serve model here, in which the first "warm body" we hire is the person your child ends up working with. We understand that this approach does lead to longer wait-lists, but at the same time believe that it ultimately helps to ensure better services, less turn-over of staff and happier kids and families.
All Idaho Center for Autism staff participate in weekly training related specifically to current research into autism. We know that new information comes out almost daily and that it often sheds new light on our understanding of the disorders and our approaches to treatment. We have committed ourselves to staying on-top of this research and using it as much as possible to guide and improve our services.
Additionally, each therapist receives at least weekly in-person supervision by qualified therapists who have years of experience working specifically with children affected by autism. We also, at a minimum, meet weekly with the child's family to discuss progress.
We approach the treatment of autism with the realization that the more we know, the more we realize how little we know. It is scary and exciting, but we believe that this humility and desire to learn only helps to improve the quality of our services and our willingness to look at "the big picture."
Ultimately, we are a small group of people who love the kids and families we work with and are committed to doing our best to help them. We understand that ASDs are complex disorders, with no easy answers and no guarantees. However, we know that the lives of kids affected by autism can improve dramatically. And we know this because we have seen it.
For more information on the agency and the services we provide, please contact us at 208-342-0374.