Highlands autism center offers array of services
The Child Diagnostic Center at Highlands offers diagnostic evaluations for infants and young children who are displaying signs of a developmental or behavioral disorder.
It is the only child diagnostic center in the region that is modeled after the world-renowned “Baby Day” program at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic.
Parents are asked to bring the child in for a comprehensive, interdisciplinary evaluation by a team of health professionals.
If results indicate developmental or behavioral disorders (including Autism spectrum disorders), families are connected with proper treatment and intervention programs.
What symptoms should I look for?
There are various reasons why your child may display developmental delays or challenging behavior, and it is our mission to offer early evaluation and intervention programs that empower and educate families who are affected by children’s developmental or behavioral disorders.
Any suspected delay or difficulty in achieving developmental milestones, or evidence of behavioral difficulties, could be a reason for professional medical evaluation. Some symptoms or signs to look for are:
n Difficulty communicating with others
n Difficulty interacting socially with family members, parents or others
n Difficulty managing challenging behaviors at home and in the community
What happens at testing and evaluation?
At the first appointment, your child will be evaluated by a physician, psychologist and a speech pathologist. During this time, you will be asked questions about your child and his/her behavior.
A health professional may engage, or observe, your child at play. No shots will be given, and no blood will be drawn.
The Child Diagnostic Center allows local residents to obtain diagnosis from seasoned professionals who are knowledgeable about Fayette County’s demographic and resources, without the need to travel to neighboring counties.
A “one-stop” diagnostic center, we are pleased to provide the children of Southwestern Pennsylvania with the early intervention and programming necessary to help them reach their highest potential.
Amanda Freger, M.Ed., program director at the center, is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a masters in educational psychology.
With 18 years worth of experience in autism-related evaluation and treatment, Freger is proud to make an everlasting difference in the lives of children and families in Fayette County and the surrounding regions.
Highlands Hospital Regional Center For Autism
Highlands Hospital Center for Autism (HHCA) is honored to offer autism services in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic Autism Development Solutions program (CCADS). We are a licensed private school that is modeled after Cleveland Clinic’s esteemed Lerner School.
HHCA provides families and children in Southwestern Pennsylvania with state-of-the-art educational and behavioral treatment.
The program model that we adhere to has shown sterling, documented positive outcomes in educational, medical and behavioral programming.
Intensive treatment through the exclusive use of ABA offers our students the highest possibility for success.
The evidence-based, data driven methodology of ABA has been proven effective through extensive research benefiting the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum and their families.
n Frazier, T.W., Youngstrom, E.A., Haycook, T., Sinoff, A., Dimitriou, F., Knapp, J., Sinclair, L. (2010).
The effectiveness of medication combined with intensive behavioral intervention for reducing aggression in youth with autism spectrum disorder, Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.
Helping those in our community through early outreach and intervention
Highlands Hospital has created the Autism Center with the goal of serving those in our region with effective, on-going treatment and hope.
It is a welcoming environment where our staff of psychiatrists and behavioral healthcare specialists gives access to diagnostic, developmental and autism services. Currently, there is no program similar to that of Cleveland Clinic’s in the regions spanning West Virginia to Pittsburgh.