MIDWEST AUTISM & THERAPY CENTERS LAUNCHES HOME-BASED PROGRAM TO EXPAND ACCESS TO AUTISM SERVICES IN THE DES MOINES REGION

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Nov 30, 2023, 10:15 ET

Just one year after Midwest Autism & Therapy Centers (MATC) opened their first offices in Altoona and West Des Moines, MATC is expanding its presence with new center locations in Ankeny and Waukee, plus the addition of home-based therapy services. With its expansion into the home-based therapy market, Midwest is aiming to make ABA services more accessible to families with school-aged children and to create continuity of care for families currently enrolled in its center-based program.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In September of 2022, Midwest launched its first two centers in Iowa, and throughout the past year, their clinicians have been providing center-based, early intervention therapy for children aged 2-6 with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). One year later, in September of 2023, to accommodate the growing number of families looking for early intervention services, two additional locations in Ankeny and Waukee opened their doors. The organization is now hoping to address another significant need in the community—ABA therapy for children over age 6—by adding home-based services to its portfolio.

ABA is the only evidenced-based therapy option for children with Autism and can help teach everything from life skills, like potty training (also called toileting), to pre-academic and communication skills. In and around Des Moines there are a number of early intervention ABA service providers, but programs able to offer in-home services for school-aged children are more limited creating long waitlists and delays in care.

"We've had so many families reach out to us over the past year requesting services for kids who have recently been diagnosed as Autistic at the age of five or six. In some cases, these families have been waiting for an ASD evaluation since their child was two or three years old. The parents did everything right, but the delay in diagnosis means they've missed a crucial opportunity to receive early-intervention therapy at one of the many excellent center-based programs in the area." says Brian Steinberg, President of Midwest.

"By the time a child is five, they're enrolled in school full-time," he goes on to say, "that disqualifies them from almost all of your standard center-based therapy programs due to conflicting schedules."

Local schools typically operate from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm whereas most center-based ABA programs operate from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. "At best, that child is going to receive five therapy hours per week, when realistically, they probably need 15-20. At that point, you're not going to give the family the outcomes they deserve," says Steinberg.

With the addition of home-based services, Midwest can work around these barriers by offering the same high-quality, individualized therapy programming, direct access to clinicians, and caregiver education right in the family's home with more flexible scheduling. The new service line also provides continuity of care by allowing clients currently enrolled in Midwest's center-based program to continue receiving services through their existing care team after graduation. This helps to ensure that skills built during therapy sessions can be transferred smoothly and maintained in home, school, and community environments. Midwest's clinicians will be operating within a 30-minute radius around Des Moines and will offer after-school or evening appointments to accommodate a wider range of families.

Caregivers interested in receiving services can submit a request at midwestautismservices.com to be connected with Midwest's enrollment team. Referring providers or community partners interested in learning more should contact Midwest at [email protected].

About Midwest Autism & Therapy Centers
Midwest is an Autism therapy service provider with six centers throughout Iowa and Minnesota specializing in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, functional behavior assessments, and pre-academic development for children on the Autism Spectrum. Its Iowa offices offer center-based therapy services for children ages 2-4 and home-based therapy for children ages 5+.

SOURCE Midwest Autism & Therapy Centers