About the Center

In 2001, the Center for Autism was formed to meet the needs of children and adults with autism and related developmental disabilities, their families and public and private schools. The Center offers a wide range of programs and clinical services including:
• Comprehensive and specialty evaluations
• Cognitive and behavioral programming
• Social skills and communication training
• School consultation services including assisting schools in program development and all aspects of serving students with autism, developmental and behavioral disabilities
• Psychological, social work and speech language services
• Individual and group counseling and therapy
• Psychopharmacology
• Research and advocacy

In Spring 2009, the Center for Autism was relocated to a new state-of-the-art facility on AHRC Nassau’s beautiful, park-like Brookville campus. With the addition of the Center for Autism, AHRC Nassau now offers a wide variety of opportunities for children and adults with autism, intellectual and other developmental disabilities on one convenient campus in Brookville. The Center for Autism is located adjacent to the Pearl & Jack Ain Advantage Care Diagnostic & Treatment Center and the Brookville Center for Children’s Services, a new school for students with autism. An estimated 400 children and adults are expected to visit the Center for Autism in its first year at Brookville.

About Autism & Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurobiological disorder that impacts development in the areas of social interaction, communication, and behavior. Autism is one of five disorders that falls under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterized by severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development.

Both children and adults with autism have significant difficulty understanding relationships and emotions, and struggle with communication, social interaction and leisure or play activities. Unusual and challenging behaviors are often present, such as extreme reactions to minor changes, unusual sensitivities to particular sounds, sights or textures, compulsive routines, and repetitive behaviors.

Other Developmental Disorders
There are a range of other developmental disorders that require appropriate assessment and treatment including: mental retardation, developmental language disorders and specific learning disabilities (such as nonverbal learning disabilities) and genetic syndromes such as Down Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, Williams Syndrome and Prader-Willi Syndrome.

A Growing Need for Services
Children are diagnosed with autism more frequently and at younger ages than ever before. While there is no known cause or cure, autism affects one in every 150 individuals  and is life-long. It is estimated that there are more than 15,000 cases in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens counties alone. Accurate diagnosis and specific educational and treatment interventions can substantially improve functioning and outcome.

The majority of the ASD population experience significant impairments in problem-solving and life skills. Independence and self-sufficiency are often compromised and emotional and behavioral difficulties occur commonly. In addition, children and adults with specific genetic conditions often have a characteristic set of social and behavioral features that can either promote or impede adaptive functioning and development. An understanding of these biological vulnerabilities can be very helpful in designing successful treatment interventions.

What Makes the Center for Autism Unique
What makes the Center for Autism truly unique is the coordinated team approach with the Advantage Care Center and the Brookville Center for Children’s Services. With this expanded scope of service, the Center will play an instrumental role in serving individuals with autism from birth through the senior years.

Autism and related developmental disabilities are often challenging to diagnose and treat. Successful intervention requires the collaborative efforts of the school, concerned parents/caregivers, the community and the team at the Center. The Center’s team consists of highly trained and respected specialists in medicine, psychology, speech/language, special education social work. The Center staff works closely with families to ensure a comprehensive and integrated approach to consultation, assessment, treatment and intervention.

Comprehensive Assessment
Individuals with autism and developmental disabilities experience impairments across a range of developmental areas, all of which must be addressed in order to develop a successful treatment plan. Social, emotional, communication, cognitive, adaptive, affective and behavioral lines of development must be carefully assessed. The Center’s team meets prior to each assessment to review each individual’s history and to plan an individualized, effective assessment strategy:
• Diagnostic Assessment that includes the use of specialized, gold standard instruments
• Psychological Testing including intelligence testing, achievement testing and assessment of behavioral and adaptive functioning
• Speech and Language Assessment that measures receptive and expressive language, semantic and pragmatic language and articulation
• Specialized Assessments of Related Conditions such as tic and movement disorders, anxiety and mood disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• A Functional Analysis of Behavior when indicated

In addition, ongoing clinical team meetings and a parent/caregiver session are held to discuss findings, solicit feedback, and outline treatment recommendations customized to meet the individual’s and family’s needs.

Interdisciplinary Treatment
The Center provides a range of treatment programs in both individual and group settings, including: cognitive and behavioral programming, social skills and communication training, counseling, psychological, social work and speech language services, psychopharmacology (medication supports), and research participation.

School Consultation
The Fay J. Lindner Center for Autism & Developmental Disabilities works with children, families and their school to promote each child’s opportunity to meet his or her maximum potential. By working closely with school-based personnel, the Center is able to build multidisciplinary teams that can develop and implement effective learning programs tailored to meet the needs of each child. The following represents a range of services offered:
•   Create highly specialized classrooms for students with autism and developmental disabilities
• Prepare individualized education plans (IEP) and individualized & group reinforcement systems
•  Design programs based on principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
•  Develop age-appropriate adaptive and functional curricula
•  Develop social skills programs
•  Conduct sensitivity training for students
•  Provide parent training and support
•  Provide workshops and training for school personnel
•  Develop peer-mentor programming
•  Help with the transition from school to adult living

Additional Services Offered
All programs and services are designed to assist each child and adult in reaching their fullest potential. The Center also provides:
• service coordination/case management
• resource information
• education and training
• community advocacy

The Center is also an active participant in a variety of applied and bench research locally, nationally and internationally and was a part of The Greater New York Autism Research Center for Excellence, a National Institute of Health funded project designed to promote clinical research and best practices within major centers across the county. This association, as well as others, together provide the Center with the opportunity to work in partnership with prestigious centers on a variety of research projects as well as medication and genetic studies.

For more information, please call (516) 686-4440.