New 360 Behavioral Health autism care center opens in Visalia

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A new 360 Behavioral Health autism care center is now open in Visalia, bringing Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, therapy services closer to families in the Central Valley.

The center provides ABA therapy for early learners and school-age children diagnosed with autism.

According to Maria Robles, director of clinical services for 360 Behavioral Health, the services are designed to help children develop essential skills.

"These services are aimed at supporting individuals and learning really important skills for development, such as communication, self-care and socialization. Those skills that we work on are really essential for our early learners," Robles said.

Robles said the organization received feedback from parents who struggled to find autism services close to home.

"They've had to travel to other locations like our partner location in Fresno, or just holding off on receiving services because there aren't any available in their area," she said.

The new Visalia location is intended to make services more accessible for local families.

"So we can go into the client's home, the family's home, work on the skills there, or they can come into the clinic and receive the services here, which is a big relief for families that have to juggle multiple responsibilities," Robles said.

The clinic includes materials designed to support play-based learning and naturalistic teaching methods.

"We have a lot of materials for teaching play. We focus on naturalistic teaching, so it really provides a space where it can be fun and also a great learning environment," Robles said.

360 Behavioral Health plans to hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Visalia center on August 15.

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