Mar 8, 2025, Herald Dispatch, Huntington WV: Growing, changing needs: Autism services
To address a growing need, many businesses in the region provide a range of services to ensure those on the autism spectrum find success throughout childhood, at school, into adulthood and in their careers.
The Autism Services Center in Huntington serves more than 700 individuals each year and has more than 400 employees working in three states, according to ASC CEO Jimmie Beirne.
Its array of services includes 24-hour residential programs supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to help them live fulfilling, independent lives within their community. Unless someone is at the age of retirement, they are also job-focused, Beirne said.
“We try to provide a program based on their interests and preferences,” he said. “We try to develop programs that add to their quality of life. It’s a person-centered planning process.”
For children, ASC has a presence in 19 school districts with board-certified behavior analysts supporting teachers and administrators and aiding in completing functional behavioral assessments and how to best work with students with special needs.
But one of the fastest growing needs is for applied behavior analysis (ABA), a treatment based on the science of learning and behavior, Beirne said. . . .
With ABA clinics in Huntington and Lincoln County in West Virginia and in South Point, Ohio, ASC is preparing to open its fourth clinic in St. Albans to help combat increasing demands.
“We have a waiting list of over 300 children, and that is very unfortunate,” Beirne said. “There are so many families and children with autism who need assistance, and it’s so important that they receive early intervention. That is key to the child’s development and the positive effects it has on later outcomes.”
An evidence-based practice endorsed by the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Academy of Pediatrics, ABA is for all ages, though children are the focus at ASC’s clinics.
ABA treatment plans begin with conducting comprehensive assessments on a child’s ability and developmental milestones, and based on these assessment findings, the behavior analyst writes specific treatment goals based on the learner skill level, needs, interests, preferences, family situation and more, Beirne said. Treatment goals include different skill areas, such as language, social skills, self-care, play and leisure, motor skills, learning and academic skills.
“We really focus on parent, family and caregiver training so they can help teach the child,” Beirne said. “Family members are encouraged to practice these skills with the child at home and in the community. Data is collected in our therapy sessions to measure the child’s progress, and family members are regularly updated on the child’s progress and are given ongoing training as the child’s needs change.”. . .
“We get calls daily from parents who have just received a diagnosis for their child with autism, and many are very devastated,” he said. “They don’t know what to do; they don’t know how to react. They don’t know what supports and resources are out there. As you can imagine, parents are very distressed to hear that we have a long waiting list, so that’s been a service we have tried to build up to meet the needs.”
The early years
Raising Up Rockstars, a business serving children in Putnam, Cabell, Jackson and Boone counties, focuses on young children with autism.
Owner Megan Pennington works with West Virginia Birth to Three, families and preschool teachers to ensure behavioral successes. With experience as a school-based behavior specialist and clinical instructor at the West Virginia Autism Training Center at Marshall University, Pennington started her business last year. She meets with families concerning the support they need and what they hope their child will learn. . . .
With two decades of experience, Pennington said when she began her career, autism diagnoses were about 1 in 160, and now it is closer to 1 in 36. Autism in young children can often come with a regression of skills; one night, a 1-year-old is able to communicate and make eye contact, and the next morning, they are nonverbal and avoid looking caregivers in the eye.
“That is truly devastating and heartbreaking for a lot of families,” Pennington said. “It’s hard for society because we like simple answers, to condense an issue down, and autism spectrum disorder defies boxes. It’s important to start there and recognize that autism is a neurodivergence. Their brain’s way is just very different than a neurotypical brain in terms of processing and what they need.”
Pennington said she wants families to know autistic kids grow and change just like neurotypical children.
“We’ve classified it as developmental delay, and that means your child is going to come to these developmental milestones just at a later time,” she said. “The biggest thing I want every parent to understand, even of neurotypical kids, is that these tantrums, problem behavior, whatever you call it, are a result of a skill deficit. We can have calm, happy and joyful houses and relationships with our children; services are here in this state to provide those supports.”
Insurance legislation improves access
Autism insurance legislation opened the doors for Winfield-based Bright Futures, established in 2007 as a private school, to transition to become a therapy provider, according to CEO Jill Scarbro. . . .
Through CARES, a licensed social worker advocate helps parents and caregivers navigate insurance, waiver systems, school processes, food insecurities and other unmet needs.
“Those events also afford the opportunity for families to connect with our advocate,” Scarbro said. “(The advocate) really helps the family with whatever they need, if it is just a heart-to-heart, parent-to-parent, and that it’s OK to acknowledge that you really love your children and this is really hard.”
Recently, CARES partnered with Marshall to launch an online ABA master’s program. The nonprofit also continues to focus on workforce development and grant funding to train providers, a need Beirne has also experienced through Autism Services Center.
“We’ve been able to do several things with working on increasing access to ABA,” Scarbro said. “You have lack of access to care because there’s not enough trained providers.”
Serving adults in ‘seasons of transition’
As those with autism grow and age out of services, Reaching Spectrum Heights helps prepare them for college, independent living and careers, according to Executive Director Rebecca Hansen. Hansen found a gap in services for a transition to adult services, motivating her to start her company upon finishing her doctorate.
“RSH’s services are meant to be during seasons of transition,” Hansen said. “We don’t only serve people that are looking for employment, and the adult gap is real, especially after age 26, with losing insurance making it even more vital.”
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