The Up Center Offers Help for Children with Behavioral Difficulties & Children on the Autistic Spectrum

Parents often come to The Up Center with concerns about their child's behavior and social interactions. Therefore, our clinicians are taking steps to enable these families to get the help they need.

The Up Center is now offering screenings for children with behavioral concerns and consultations for children with known developmental disorders. Coming in January, The Up Center also will be launching support groups for families of children on the autistic spectrum. Details about all these services are below:

Developmental Screenings

Consultations for Developmental Disabilities

Autism Support Groups

Developmental Screenings

Screenings are available for children or adolescents with chronic behavioral difficulties including poor socialization, impulse control and/or anger management in the home and/or school, which has not been responsive to current treatment programs or services. Clinical assessment is conducted using evidenced based and clinically validated tools such as the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). Please call Katie Efird at 757-965-8652 to schedule a screening.

Therapeutic Consultations

Therapeutic Consultations are provided to families or service providers of individuals with known developmental disabilities to assist them in creating a comprehensive plan of care. Please call Katie Efird at 757-965-8652 to schedule a consultation.

Support Groups

Beginning January 2009, The Up Center is pleased to introduce two groups designed specifically to provide support to youth on the autism spectrum and their families. Two groups will run concurrently: one for parents and the other for their children. These concurrent sessions will ensure that the whole family is supported, while eliminating the  need for multiple scheduled appointments, child care and additional travel time. The groups will run approximately 10 weeks for about 90 minutes.

The Social, Emotional, Educational Development (SEED) Group for Kids include topics such as: Friendship Skills, Dealing With Feelings, Alternatives To Aggression and Classroom Survival Skills

The SEED Parent Group topics include: Behavior Management Strategies, IEP Advocacy, Autism and Nutrition, Supporting Siblings, Parent Self Care & Respite and more!

For more information or to register, please contact Katie Efird at (757) 965-8652.