Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Wessels.
Benjamin, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
We began providing home based therapy for children with autism just after Illinois passed an insurance mandate (in 2008) that allowed an incredible number of children to access services that were previously unavailable to them. Overnight, families that previously had very few treatment options could now have a clinician come to their home and create an individualized, data-based therapeutic program. And because of this, the number of families seeking services greatly outweighed the number of qualified clinicians available to provide services. In fact, when we were first getting started we did not realize just how big the need would be for our services.
At the time that we got started, there was this incredible push in the autism services industry to grow, and to grow fast. There were very few providers doing what we do in the Chicagoland area, but there were so many families in need of help. Our approach from the start was unique in that we were committed to intensive, comprehensive programming that closely followed behavioral principals. We saw that standards were not being upheld in the field because of the overwhelming number of families seeking help, and so we chose to uphold our standards even if it would impede our growth. From the start, it has been important to us to advance standards of quality in the field.
In fact, our clinical director taught many of the clinicians who are now practicing independently in Chicago!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
We were among the first companies to start providing ABA therapy in the Chicagoland area, and because of that there was not yet a clear roadmap to work off of. Perhaps most significantly, in 2008 when the bill first passed, insurance companies were not set up to reimburse for our services, or to even accept our clinicians into their network! So we spent a lot of time learning how the insurance industry works. We made it a commitment to become experts in our client’s insurance policies so that they did not have to. Insurance policies can be confusing, and we believe that a family with a child that has just received a diagnosis of autism should not also have to become an insurance expert in order to make sure that their child can get the services that they need. So we chose to take that burden off of their back.
Of course, a lot has happened in the insurance world over the past decade. And every year, things change even more – nobody really knows what new changes will take place in the coming years.
But we believe that it’s worth our time to help our families navigate those changes so that they can spend more of their time focusing on their child.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Comprehensive Early Autism Services – what should we know?
We provide home-based ABA therapy (Applied Behavior Analysis) to young children who have been diagnosed with autism. Our therapy program is unique because we create a comprehensive, individualized treatment plan for every child. We work on every relevant aspect of a child’s development. This can include anything from speech, play, social skills, fine and gross motor skills, to help with bed time, meal times, toilet training and general self-help skills.
Something very important to us that makes us unique is that our decisions are driven by data.
Rather than a clinician coming in and deciding what to work on purely based on their past experience (although experience is still important), we take data during each session to track our progress and to determine what we should be focusing on next. We have a comprehensive set of developmental programs that act as a roadmap when evaluating what needs to be accomplished throughout the course of a child’s treatment. Many programs fall short by either neglecting to have an evidence based road map to set the course, or not taking rigorous enough data to ensure that they are making meaningful progress towards their goals.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Our success is dependent on the teams of therapists that are going out into our family’s homes day in and day out. They have to be ready for anything – you have to be able to think quickly when you’re working with children! Our therapists also have to be willing to put their own egos aside and collaborate well with a team of people so that everyone is focused on the main objective: the child’s success. The therapists are the key, so my directors and I, as well as their admin team, are really in a support role; our view is that our job is primarily to make our clinician’s jobs easier.
The parents ultimately deserve the credit. When your child is diagnosed with autism it can be very difficult to figure out what to do next. Doctors, schools, therapists, family members and friends all have their opinion about what is going to be best for your child.
As a parent, that can be really overwhelming. For the parents that decide that ABA therapy is the best route, they now have to commit to allowing a team of people to come into their home and be intimately involved in teaching their child. Not only that, but that team of therapists is there almost every day for multiple hours. It’s a huge commitment.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.autismtherapychicago.com
- Phone: 312-965-2997
- Email: info@earlyautismservices.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Comprehensive-Early-Autism-Services-CEAS-168029090065849/
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