Proud Moments opens autism center in city of Belen

BELEN — Parents of children with autism have a new resource in Valencia County.

Proud Moments ABA has opened its second location in Belen recently and is welcoming new clients into its program. Proud Moments has operated in Los Lunas for nearly three years.

“ABA — applied behavior analysis — is an evidence-based treatment for children with the diagnosis of autism,” said Proud Moments market relations specialist Sarah Baca. “They do have to have a medical diagnosis, which we can also provide.”

Baca, who has a son diagnosed with autism when he was 2 years old, says New Mexico has come a long way in terms of cutting down the wait time for both autism diagnosis and treatment.

“Proud Moments really focuses on access to care and it is really important for families not to be sitting on a waiting list, including for a diagnosis,” she said.

The company’s program focuses on the four core deficits of autism — communication, socialization, behavior and independent daily living skills — Baca said.

“Each one of those deficits affects each child differently, so ABA therapy addresses each child individually,” she said. “Since it is such a spectrum disorder, we look at each child to determine their trajectory.

“We want to see goals through a treatment plan that includes the parents and the provider. What skills are they lagging in? Where can we help them?”

Baca said the easiest way to think about ABA treatment is like a prescription for an hour of treatment.

“I like to use the word ‘prescription’ because there is no medication for children with autism, so it’s like a prescription where your child needs a certain amount of time for services,” she said.

Proud Moments can diagnose and provides services to children 18 months old to 18 years. Treatment hours prescribed depends on the deficits a child needs to have addressed, Baca said.

She also emphasized the company isn’t providing “babysitting.”

“We’re working with (the children) every minute they’re here. We bill insurance. It’s no cost for families who have Medicaid and for private insurance, there can be co-pays,” Baca said. “We will find out what insurance covers, what the co-pays are.”

Treatment is provided one-on-one so children can work on the goals in their treatment plan, which is developed by a board certified behavior analyst, which is a master’s level clinician with a degree in a field like special education or psychology. The BCBA is the lead clinician for a child, who work directly with a registered behavior technician.

“It’s a team and they’re always analyzing data. It’s very data driven,” Baca said. “We also have family training for the parents, family members, grandparents or the caregiver.

“A lot of behavior modification is just supporting the child to be able to live the best life they can.”

During their time at the center, children have the chance to play and move through different activities.

“They’re not just sitting in a room. We have movement rooms, social learning, circle time. They’re moving throughout the day,” Baca said.

Proud Moments offers programming year round, and is open during school breaks and on the majority of holidays.

“If kids need to come in for more hours, we can have them in on Saturdays if they need,” she said. “It’s flexible but also consistent. We thrive on consistency, so the greater the consistent schedule the greater the outcomes that we’re going to see.

“It’s Proud Moments’ mission to provide more access to care. My son was diagnosed when he was two and the wait list for services was three years long. So now, being able to get a child through the process and get them started on treatment within two months after getting diagnosed, that is amazing.

“It’s giving them a better quality of life. There is no cure for autism but we definitely want to make sure we’re giving the child the best chance at a better quality of life. This is evidence-based treatment,” Baca said. “I’ve seen the transformation in children. I’ve seen them going from banging their head every minute to being able to go all day without an episode.”

Proud Moments ABA is a national agency serving more than 3,000 children across 13 states, including New Mexico.

Their new Belen center is at 651 W. Chavez and the Los Lunas center is at 2600 Palmilla Road.

For more information or to begin the intake process, visit proudmomentsaba.com.