Autism program expanding in St. Louis suburbs

ST. LOUIS -- An early intervention program at Mercy Kids Autism Center in suburban St. Louis is raising hopes for some parents of young children with autism.

The center began offering the early intensive program about three years ago for children ages 18 months to 3 years. The program, known as the Early Start Denver Model, is now being expanded at Mercy, which is partnering with another provider, St. Louis Arc. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported a donation from a local family foundation is funding the expansion.

Paula Juelich said that before her son started the program he had a checklist of troubling behaviors. Language skills and use of gestures had stopped; he no longer made eye contact.

"If I were to back out of my driveway and go right, and he thought we should go left, he would have a screaming tantrum," Juelich said. "The rigid behavior and his need for control was so high. It was unattainable."

Juelich said that after five months of intensive training, David, now 4, is a different child, talking to his mother about preschool, taking swimming lessons and playing rather than hiding in the bushes.

"They literally changed his life; and by changing his life, they changed our lives," said Juelich, who lives near Webster Groves, Missouri. "The way we were living before wasn't living."

The family foundation money will, among other things, pay to bring trainers to St. Louis to begin the process of certifying 10 more therapists in the method. The grant also funded a daylong informational conference, attended by about 50 parents, therapists and educators from across the region.

"It's an evidence-based practice that has shown promising results for kids with autism, and it's not being offered to the degree we would like to see it," said Jodi Woessner, vice president of children's services at St. Louis Arc. "This collaboration is really going to be an effort to try to build availability of this program across the region."

Autism spectrum disorders are a group of developmental disabilities that cause social, communication and behavioral challenges. The range is very mild to severe. Federal statistics show that 1 in 88 children in the U.S. are on the autism spectrum.