Substitute Therapists make an Impact

As you may be aware, children in our program for Autism Spectrum Disorders go through multi-disciplinary therapy - individualized Applied Behavior Analysis therapy, combined with our unique Group Language Therapy preschool classes. We also have a rather small but very passionate, dedicated corps of substitute therapists who step in to cover therapy when a staff member is out. Sarah Brunet, Speech Therapist, had this story to share about the impact one of our substitutes had on a child with ASD in her speech group:

"I was out about 6 weeks ago on vacation and had a substitute therapist cover my groups. She hasn't been around much since, until last week when one therapist was out for jury duty. Well, one day last week, I was out on the playground with my group and she walked outside. The little boy I was playing with looked up and cued himself, saying 'Go say Hey, Ms. Pam!' He ran over to her smiling & gave her a big wave! I was surprised to see not only that he remembered her name, but that he was so excited to see her that he stopped what he was doing to go say hey! It's proof not only that our kids are constantly full of surprises, but also a testament to the spirit and importance of our wonderful subs!"

InRegister's Autism story inspires community, helps spread the word

Welcome to Autism Awareness Month! This month's InRegister features a cover story  on resources for Autism Spectrum Disorders across the capital region (page 20), with a profile on BRSHF's President, Colleen Waguespack, and her son Christopher, who was enrolled in our autism program from 2007-2010. When the issue hit stands last week, Jenna, who works in our front office, got the following emotional phone call:

"I got a call from a lady who had read the InRegister article, and she was just choked up on the phone. She has a daughter with a similar diagnosis and was interested in our services. She was amazed by Colleen and Christopher's story, she read it 3 times in a row. She was impressed at the progress Christopher made here, and was just so glad she read the article, because she didn't know about us before."

As a non-profit clinic, it can be hard for us to get the word out about our services at all, much less to paint an accurate picture of the incredibly rare, comprehensive, effective programs we offer, especially in the area of Autism. Many people don't realize that we accept 5 different types of private insurance, in addition to Medicaid and offering financial assistance, so we exist for people of all incomes, not just the medically under-served. Autism is almost an epidemic and the resources in our community are scarce, but as the article showed, there IS hope for people living "on the Spectrum" in and around Baton Rouge. This April, we hope to reach more people with that message.

If you have a loved one with needs that BRSHF doesn't meet, we encourage you to contact our friends at the Resource Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, at Families Helping Families.