Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Kansas City Autism Training Center



Kansas City Autism Training Center
  • 7501 Belinder Avenue
  • Prairie Village, KS 66208
  • (913) 787-3275
  • Send email

Our mission is to provide professional, research based interventions and training for children diagnosed with autism and their families. In addition, our facility provides education and training in the use of these techniques to parents, teachers, therapists, educators, and other direct service providers in the Kansas City area.

Autism spectrum disorders are behaviorally defined and include significant impairments in language, social interaction, and the presence of repetitive behaviors and/or interests. The autism spectrum covers a wide range of behaviors and abilities. Children diagnosed with autism (like all children) differ in their behavior and skill levels. In addition, behavioral characteristics will differ between children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. These behavioral characteristics may include:

Social skills: Individuals may not make eye contact and may spend their time alone. They may have difficulty understanding other people's feelings or talking about their own feelings. Children may not like to be held or cuddled, or may only cuddle during specific situations.

Speech, language, and communication: Individuals may not speak or they merely repeat what they have heard (i.e., echolalia). The words may be repeated immediately or following a delay. For those with vocal language, they may not use the rules of grammar correctly (e.g., pronouns) and they may speak atypically (e.g., monotone, too loud).

Repeated behaviors and routines: Individuals may repeat the same behavior over and over. They may also have difficulty transitioning during typical routines, or when their typical routines change (e.g., snack at 10 am instead of 9:45 am).

Over 40 years of scientific research within behavior analysis has resulted in a treatment and teaching methodology that has produced improved outcomes for children diagnosed with autism. This method--applied behavior analysis (ABA)—is recommended by the Surgeon General of the United States of America as the treatment of choice for children diagnosed with autism. The Kansas City Autism Training Center promotes these services and provides them to children and their families in the Kansas City area.

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