Autism Services & The Autism Family Center
Resources and Supports for children and adults on the Autism Spectrum and their families
Sensitive to the needs of individuals and families who face the challenges of living with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, WJCS offers a range of services to reduce the stresses and relieve the sense of isolation. WJCS addresses the needs of individuals and families through the life span, starting at birth and continuing through adulthood.
The AUTISM FAMILY CENTER, staffed by a highly experienced professional team and assisted by parent volunteers, offers comprehensive services in a comfortable setting within which information, guidance, parent support and education, spiritual strength and the informal supports of others familiar with a child with autism, can be shared. Support is provided through funds from UJA-Federation of New York. Click here for complete brochure of Autism Family Center services.
The WJCS Autism Services Guide lists the various services and supports that are available throughout the agency. Other WJCS programs that support individuals and families include:
Early Intervention
ACHIEVING MILESTONES provides occupational, physical, speech and special education evaluation therapy services to children from birth to 6 years of age
who are suspected of having a developmental delay and/or disability
Social and Recreational Services
- THERAPEUTIC SOCIAL SKILLS GROUP - a social skills program for children ages 6 -15 who have an Autism Specturm Disorder that fosters their social/emotional growth.
- FAMILY ADVOCACY (FAD), a social, recreational skills-based group for adolescents on the autism spectrum and their families.
- SPECTRUM BASEBALL PROGRAM, a collaboration with the Miracle League of Westchester, providing baseball experiences for children on the spectrum.
- GIRLS NIGHT OUT and SUPPER CLUB offered through the Autism Family Center, which are unique social clubs for girls on the spectrum and young adults diagnosed with Asperger's and High Functioning Autism.
Family Supports and Services
- CRISIS ORIENTED RESPONSE TO DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES (CORDD) is a program that assists families struggling through a crisis with an autistic or developmentally disabled child, teen or adult.
- PARENT MANAGEMENT TRAINING (PMT), developed by Dr. Alan Kazdin at Yale Child Study Center, has been shown to be effective in decreasing oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior. WJCS offers PMT groups to families of children on the spectrum. For information about Parent Management Training for Educators, click here.
- Project BEEP is designed to provide a safer community in which children and adults with developmental disabilities can live by training parents, caregivers and first responders to successfully intervene and handle challenging situations.
- PROJECT TIME-OUT offers in-home respite services to Westchester families who are caring for a child with developmental disability, including autism spectrum disorders.
- PROJECT LIFESAVER is a program designed to help individuals affected with autism and other developmental disabilities who may wander or get lost and need an extra layer of security.
- TRAININGS and WORKSHOPS offered through theAUTISM FAMILY CENTERfor parents and professionals looking to learn more about autism spectrum disorders.
The POINT PROGRAM is a unique program with supportive services that enables young adults, ages 21+, with developmental and
learning disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders, to live independently in apartments located throughout downtown White Plains.
In January 2011, with a grant from Autism Speaks, WJCS staff received training at the ASPIRE Center for Learning and Development (Melville, NY) to develop curricula on healthy relationships and sexuality. Click here to read an article about this much needed program that was written by WJCS staff members Patricia Grossman and Kari Phillips for Autism Spectrum News.
Contact: Lee Englander, MA
Autism Family Center Coordinator
Phone: 761-0600 x 228
Email: lenglander@wjcs.com
Contact: Kari Philllips, LCSW
Phone: 914-949-6761, ext 477
Email: kphillips@wjcs.com
