A new “one-on-one” autism therapy center is off and running in Milledgeville.
Academy ABA is now enrolling new clients at its center at the corner of West Hancock Street and Earnest Byner Street, previously home to Pathfinders Christian Church. The building was built in 1970 and originally home to Calvary Baptist Church. Academy ABA purchased the property earlier this year for $480,000, according to courthouse records. Academy ABA operates four other locations in Georgia, all in Metro Atlanta.
The treatment is relatively intensive and based on a 40-hour-per-week model, according to Shelley Margow, who operates the company alongside her husband, Andy, who serves as CEO.
“This becomes their school for the time being.
The research shows that the more intensive the treatment, the better the outcomes,” said Shelley Margow, a Doctor of Occupational Therapy and licensed occupational therapist. “The goal is for the children to return to a traditional school setting or school system.”
In terms of estimating the number of children in Baldwin County with an autism diagnosis, the most recent Census Bureau estimate placed Baldwin’s under-18 population at roughly 7,900.
Meanwhile, roughly 3.2 percent of children in Georgia have been diagnosed with autism, which would put the estimated number of children in Baldwin County with an autism diagnosis at about 250.
Academy ABA has its own diagnostic team and also an EarliPoint Evaluation device, a new technology that assists in diagnosing autism.
Essentially, children watch a series of short videos on the EarliPoint monitor, while sensors inside of the machine track the child’s eye movements.
AI is used to compare the child’s eye movements to its records of previous recordings of other children watching the same videos. The EarliPoint system is FDA approved for children as young as 16 months old.
Academy ABA accepts both private insurance and Medicaid. Its website isacademyaba.com.