Services for children with autism and their families are expanding in eastern Kentucky. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday for the new Appalachian Valley Autism Center in Prestonsburg. A similar facility is located at the Pikeville Medical Center. Katie Bentley is president of ARC of Central Kentucky and a Board member of the Autism Society of the Bluegrass. Bentley said staff at the new Prestonsburg facility will be trained to help children and their parents.
“For all of our kids, we want to be able to have a way to communicate with them. That is extremely important, especially for children with autism. You know to be able to have a method of communication, sometimes it’s not words. Sometimes it’s gesturing or it could be a communications device,” said Bentley.
Bentley’s son experienced seizures for about nine years. He was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which is a genetic disorder. Bentley noted every child with autism or other disabilities is unique.
“Each person that has autism has different needs and to be able to have a center that can come in to help each person grow, that’s pretty amazing. So, that training is really important and not every center gets to call themselves an autism center,” said Bentley.
Bentley said that training typically covers areas like speech along with physical and occupational therapies. She added part of the approach is to get the whole family involved in care.
