Jessica Rogers, (248) 559-5820, jrogers@actnetwork.org
Becky Lepak, (248) 669-1230, lepakassociates@
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EIC LAUNCHES PILOT PROGRAM TO COMBINE ABA WITH SPEECH THERAPY
SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN (October 9, 2009) – The Early Intervention Center has begun a new treatment program for children with autism, combining Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) with speech therapy through a collaborative partnership with Total Communication, a children’s speech and language clinic operated by Lepak & Associates. This pilot program is administered at the Total Communication facility at 32850 Martin Rd., Suite 104 in Walled Lake. It is separate from the ABA-focused program that continues to be offered at the EIC’s facility at 18300 W. 12 Mile Rd. in Southfield.
The EIC and Total Communication staff hope to increase enrollment for the new pilot program; only two children are currently enrolled. They receive a total of 14 hours of therapy per week that include two 45-minute, one-on-one sessions with a speech therapist in addition to the EIC’s standard ABA treatment. These are different from the sessions of the ABA-focused EIC program, which involve both a speech therapist and an ABA therapist.
The EIC also aims to determine whether combining speech therapy with ABA yields more effective results than administering the two therapies separately. If so, the current EIC program may be adjusted to implement this new combination at the Southfield facility.
THE EARLY INTERVENTION CENTER – headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, was created in 2001 as part of the Autistic Children’s Treatment (ACT) Network, which provides research, education, service and information for parents of children with autism. For more information, please contact Jessica Rogers at (248) 559-5820 or jrogers@actnetwork.org, or visit www.earlyinterventioncenter.org.
