NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR ABQ AUTISM CENTER
Local autism center honored by national agency for work with children
A local provider of treatment for children with autism has been recognized as one of the top agencies in the country.
An Albuquerque provider of treatment for children with autism has been recognized as one of the top agencies in the country.
The Los Angeles, Calif.-based Behavioral Health Center of Excellence recently designated JumpStart Autism Center as a “Center of Excellence.”
JumpStart offers Applied Behavior Analysis treatment services at its center at 8500 Washington NE.
“The award celebrates exceptional special needs providers that excel in the areas of clinical quality, staff satisfaction and qualifications, and consumer satisfaction,” the national industry quality assurance organization said in a news release announcing the designation.
Autism Spectrum Disorder affects the development of communication and social interaction skills. Some children diagnosed with ASD are nonverbal, some eat such a limited number of foods that it threatens their health.
Data collected by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention show ASD is becoming more prevalent. About 1 in 68 children in the U.S. were diagnosed in 2012, compared to 1 in 150 in 2000. It is more common in boys than girls.
JumpStart founder, clinical and executive director Dr. Brian Lopez said research since the 1970s has shown this type of treatment can make a significant difference in children’s life experience.
Brian Lopez began studying autism in California in 1996. He returned to his native New Mexico in 2003 and saw a need for treatment providers. He founded the agency in 2008 to provide diagnostic services. He began offering Applied Behavior Analysis treatment services in 2011 after a state law passed requiring private health insurers to cover the treatment. In Applied Behavior Analysis, trained therapists called Registered Behavior Technicians work individually with children to help them learn to communicate everyday needs and interact with family members and peers.
Lopez said children may need intensive one-on-one treatment for up to two years and it can be very expensive.
The state law capped the amount insurers were required to pay to $36,000 per year, with a lifetime limit of $200,000. The Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion in New Mexico changed that, Lopez said.
The ACA said insurers could no longer refuse coverage for pre-existing conditions, and removed the annual and lifetime caps on insurance coverage. Many families have also been able to get treatment covered through Medicaid since program eligibility was expanded in 2014 under provisions of the ACA.
Those changes enabled JumpStart to offer more intensive services. The agency now has programs that offer services from just a few hours per week up to 40 hours per week.
JumpStart currently has about 70 full and part-time staffers who work with 46 children. It has a waiting list and is expanding to meet demand.
The agency opened a center in Denver this year and is adding a Rio Rancho location near the Presbyterian Rust Medical Center in 2017.