Autism Support Now opens new location

A new location of Autism Support Now hosted its grand opening Tuesday night.

This is the only location of Autism Support Now in Southeast Missouri. The organization is one of a handful of autism-support institutions providing care to children eligible for Medicaid, according to president Susan Johnson.

The therapy clinic off Lexington Avenue in Cape Girardeau will offer individualized behavioral treatment programs based on principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), a science-based type of therapy focused on improving learning and behaviors.

Other than the new facility, Autism Support Now has four locations in the Kansas City Metro area. The Cape Girardeau location will serve children aged 18 months to 14 years old.

“This is an area of the state that is very under-served for ABA services for autistic kiddos,” Johnson said.

Autism Support Now opened a much smaller clinic in Cape Girardeau in 2018. When the first location opened, it immediately filled up and had a waitlist with wait times of six months up to a year.

As a mother of a child on the autism spectrum, Johnson said she’s passionate about diminishing wait times for services.

“I sat on a waitlist myself waiting for applied behavior analysis for my son,” Johnson said. “Our goal for months was to find a bigger facility and expand so we can serve more kids all over Southeast Missouri.”

The new facility will host nearly three times as many kids than the old location. It has a main floor and a full-size basement Autism Support Now staff will use to separate kids based on their needs.

The main floor space is filled with toys, children’s books and games designated for younger clients.

Downstairs, older children can utilize a full-size kitchen where Autism Support Now staff will teach basic cooking skills. An adaptive skills room resembling a bedroom and laundry room was built so kids can learn social interactions and motor movements.

“We want to make sure the kiddos can independently make their lunch, take a shower by themselves or go to the bathroom,” Cora Hendrix, co-clinical director said.

Autism Support Now offers clinic services from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the school year.

Hendrix hopes to have 15 to 20 kids on each of the building’s levels. Each child currently has their own therapist, according to Hendrix. The facility has a near even staff-to-client ratio.

Johnson said Autism Support Now will open three more locations across the State of Missouri by the end of the year. The organization is also scoping out locations to open a second location in or around Cape Girardeau by early next year.