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MySpot in Houston helping children and adults with autism
A family finds a spot that gives a voice to their disabled son where they found much needed help in Houston.
HOUSTON - There is a supportive learning environment in Houston that accepts health insurance, offering care for children and young adults with developmental disabilities, like autism.
A local mom says it offers her son a sense of belonging, and she hopes it will help him become more independent as he grows up.
Gavin, 9, was diagnosed with autism when he was two. He's non-verbal, but his mom is thrilled that he has found a way to communicate at MySpot.
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"They're very good and very experienced at reading his body language and figuring out what he wants to do, even when he can't communicate. So, having therapists with that kind of experience is so important, because it can take a long time to get to know a child and understand how to help them in the best way. He learns through baby steps, and they record data constantly on their laptop or tablet to track his progress and share with parents. That kind of helps you guide the next thing that you want to tackle in learning, whether it's educational or just behavioral," says Kayla Fleming Selans, Gavin's mother.
Hunter Alexander became a Certified Behavior Analyst to help others, after witnessing his own brother deal with development delays.
"I've been around this whole thing my entire life and so being able to be an integral part of these children, adolescents, and adults' lives is so important, and it brings me joy every single day to get to do it, "explains Hunter.
Kayla is relieved that she found a place that accepts older children, plus, they help their clients through young adulthood.
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"Whether it's building skills, life skills, helping with getting dressed, eating, sometimes we may see that there's disruptive behavior that may be a barrier to get in a mainstream classroom," states Hunter.
Kayla says Gavin benefits from the therapy.
"The one-on-one attention is so important because it helps him really understand how to be more patient, how to cooperate better. Definitely, since he started at MySpot, he is a lot more patient and just more in-tune with what's going on around him," says Kayla. "We offer a comprehensive, holistic approach to therapy. So, we offer our Applied Behavior Analysis therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, music therapy. We will be having nutrition to help with feeding restricted food intake, in addition to home health. So, if they ever have any needs for medication administration or any of those kinds of things, we can offer that as well," says Hunter.
Hunter says the goal is to offer everything under one roof to take even more stress off of parents.
For more information: https://myspotcare.com