Today, one in 36 children in the United States will be diagnosed with autism. When that diagnosis happens, parents are often at a loss of where to turn, what supports they need to put in place, and who can help them. That’s exactly how Kyla Bergmann felt when her three-year-old, Townes, was diagnosed.
“You know, when you first get the diagnosis, you really don’t know how to navigate through the world with a diagnosis of autism,” she explained. “I would say he’s probably in the middle of the spectrum, but he does need some assistance.”
Kyla heard of Easterseals Midwest, and enrolled her family in Caregiver Training, a two-week intensive class that teaches parents and caregivers how to nurture their children and their behaviors. Through integrated group instruction, individual sessions, and guided observations, caregivers learn appropriate techniques to address the various and unique behaviors of children with autism.
But Kyla wasn’t done after Caregiver Training.
“We did two-week [Caregiver Training] and I met Jessica Harrison.” Kyla said. “She was head of ABA and we decided we definitely needed to do ABA for Townes because we had a lot of behavioral challenges. So we started before the age of three and he is 10 now.”
ABA, or Applied Behavior Analysis, is a proven and researched therapy to teach children with autism social and behavior skills to successfully navigate life. At Easterseals, families work with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst to develop an individualized plan so children can meet their goals and get the best support possible from their caregivers.
For Townes, this meant working on his communication skills and some problem behaviors he was showing.
“Townes has been with Easterseals since 2017,” Jessica, ABA Manager and BCBA, said. “When he first came to us, we had very limited communication. He initially was fairly avoidant of other individuals, didn’t want to interact as much with peers. We had some more intense challenges in the way of behavior, as well.”
It wasn’t long before Townes started making strides. Jessica said that Townes is now able to effectively communicate his wants and needs, ensuring his needs are being met by his loved ones. He has also grown outwardly, becoming much more social than when he began ABA Therapy.
“His verbal language has completely blossomed,” Jessica said.
He has a fun-loving personality. He brings a smile wherever he goes. He will go right up to people and he’ll say hi… He just loves to interact with people and play around his peers now. And we have seen significant decreases in the challenging behavior.
And while Townes has grown and blossomed through ABA, Easterseals has also provided a resource to his mom.
“There are people out there that are actually trained that help you lean into [your diagnosis],” Kyla said.
I mean you lean on them so heavily for everything. We leaned on Easterseals immensely. They are part of our family.
