Life Skills Autism Academy Opens New Charlotte Location

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Life Skills Autism Academy is the latest facility in the area to offer a new take on something not so new…. Applied Behavioral Analysis.
“ABA Therapy has been around for a really long time. It is a type of therapy for children who have autism, and it helps them with their emotional control and with their emotional and non-verbal communication,” explains Director of Client Relations at the Academy, Kate Garofalo.

The facility focuses on children diagnosed with autism  ages 1 through 6 and ultimately hopes to get them classroom ready. The goal is something some parents come into this worrying will never happen. Management staff at Life Skills Academy like David Schweit said early intervention and diagnosis are crucial.
“What I notice with that is that families are sometimes a little hesitant, right, to think that it might be a kiddo on the spectrum,” said Schweit, “but the earlier the better, the earlier you can get this kind of help and this treatment and this therapy for your kiddo, the better. So I just encourage any family that may have any concern to get their kid evaluated, because it does go a long way.”

Garofalo learned this first hand with her own child who was flagged for autism at 18 months old.
“I understand, coming from a mother’s point of view, ” she said, “how hard and challenging that can be. Hearing that your son might have autism. And so I want to work with families who hear that their child might have autism and help them kind of navigate what that journey looks like in terms of what the therapy looks like.”
The ABA therapy offered focuses on one one attention with the children to emphasize H.R.E. –Keeping the child Healthy Relaxed an Engaged. A formula for success they said is working.