TERRE HAUTE Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — One in every 59 children are diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with boys being four times more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Hopebridge, an Autism therapy center in Terre Haute, said with the growing diagnoses and demand of families in the Valley, expansion of their facility was an easy next step.
Currently, the facility can only accept 20 families, but with the expansion they will be able to accommodate three times that, said center manager Andee Mullins. She noted families have responded positively to the announcement of their growth.
Hopebridge provides one-on-one therapy models to help children prepare children for school, and accepts children ranging from 15 months to 9 years of age.
Research shows children can be reliably diagnosed as early as 15 months, and intervention between the ages of 2 and 7 is the most critical for developing children.
“Being able to play with peers, being able to go to the grocery store where is loud it’s noisy where there’s a lot of people, being able to go out to eat with mom and dad,” Mullins said. “It’s just the little things like that, those challenges that they face just in every day, we’re trying to help them learn how to better cope with those stressors.”
In addition to fulfilling a need for families, the new facility will bring 40 new jobs to the community.
She said the new facility will have its groundbreaking in March and will open in November of this year.
