Lackawanna, N.Y. (WBEN) - In the midst of Autism Awareness Month, OLV Human Services in Lackawanna is finally ready to open the doors for its new Evaluation and Treatment Center.
Cindy Lee, CEO of OLV Human Services, says this new branch has been in the works for about two years. To add to the excitement of opening on Tuesday, the Erie County Department of Health gave the official approval for opening on Monday.
"The center is designed to provide support to families and to children who are suspected of having a neurodevelopmental disorder, whether that'd be Autism Spectrum Disorder, an intellectual disability, or any variety of challenges that may be affecting their developmental process," said Lee in an interview with WBEN.
The new Evaluation and Treatment Center will provide a variety of treatment options for children and families in Western New York, including:
- Individualized behavioral programming;
- Occupational therapy;
- Speech therapy;
- Physical therapy;
- Social and life skills training;
- Family education and support services for both siblings and parents.
All of this is provided in a state-of-the-art therapy area serving as many as 300-to-400 children and families each year.
"We feel very proud to be able to not only get the initial diagnosis that might be needed to get access to services, but we also provide the services following that," Lee said.
On top of providing kids the services they need, OLV Human Services is also an agency that strives to educate the community, especially when it comes to autism acceptance.
"We've moved a little bit past autism awareness, because being aware of differences in how people move through the world isn't sufficient. It's really about accepting each one of us for our individuality and our differences," Lee said. "Autism is particularly compelling, because it's often invisible until it isn't. So many families struggle with their child not speaking when they think they should be, or they're overreacting or underreacting to pain or other things that a typically developing child would not struggle with and they're left with lots of questions. So being aware of differences and knowing where to go to get assistance is critically important, and the Evaluation and Treatment Center here at OLV Human Services strives to fill that community need."
Lee says it's more likely than not that someone has already had an interaction with another person who is autistic. And while there certainly are some core characteristics that physicians and developmental pediatricians look at, everyone is different, and they present themselves very differently.
"If you're worried about your child's language development, you're worried about their social interaction or their social awareness, or sometimes children will have a very narrow and circumscribed interest in a topic - dinosaurs tends to come to mind - and it just seems excessive and they're so interested, they often can't switch topics very easily, those are some very early warning signs that something might be going on. But it's always advised to get a thorough workup on any child that a parent has any concerns about their development," Lee said.
As people have become more aware of the early indicators that a developmental issue might be going on, the system in Western New York has been flooded with concerned parents or family members. Getting on a list to have a child thoroughly evaluated can mean an 18-month wait for some.
"When you think about a two-and-a-half year old, who isn't speaking and you have to wait until they're almost four to find out what's going on with them, that's a critical period of time in a child's development that can be missed. Some of the hurdles are just access to evaluations. The pediatricians who are doing this or the developmental pediatricians, the specialists, they're waitlists are very, very long," Lee said. "I think another thing families contend with is, 'Oh, just wait and see. They're fine. They're two, they'll talk when they're ready.' And while that may be true, it also can delay getting an assessment and access to services during a very critical period of time in a child's development."
How has OLV Human Services invested in working towards providing access to children and families in need of assistance? Lee says it's all about working toward taking some of those kids off the waitlist.
"Oishei does a fantastic job of getting services and diagnosis to families, and they need help. There's more families and more children that need help than can be accommodated in one sort of center. So we hope to alleviate the waitlist," she said.
"Father Baker's legacy has always been identifying a community need and responding when you see it. We saw it, and we responded. So we're really proud of the Evaluation and Treatment Center, going to be opening officially April 16. We already have children scheduled for evaluation, and we're hoping that families will feel relieved and supported in being able to finally get some answers."
For anyone looking for more information about evaluation and treatment for autism and developmental disabilities, you can reach the OLV Evaluation and Treatment Center at (716)-828-7586, or send them an email at ETCIntake@OLVHS.org.
