Mar 30, 2023, mLIVE, Kalamazoo, MI: Learning center for autistic children, adults opens in Portage https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2023/03/learning-center-for-autistic-children-adults-opens-in-portage.html?outputType=amp
PORTAGE, MI — A new learning center catering to children and adults with autism spectrum disorder is now open in Portage.
Total Spectrum, located at 7895 Currier Dr., offers its services six days per week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., providing both onsite services as well as in-home therapy and education, the facility’s clinical director Melissa Furman told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette.
The facility is the second one opened by the company in Kalamazoo County, with an existing facility at 1040 N. 10th St. in Kalamazoo. As that facility got to the point where it could no longer take on new clients, Total Spectrum’s parent company, LEARN Behavioral, saw a need for a new location, said Lauren Connors, spokesperson for LEARN Behavioral.
With a model built around evidence-based treatment, Furman said one thing that sets the new Total Spectrum facility apart from other local autism centers is that they provide services to adults as well….
While many of the younger children enrolled participate in all-day programs, the extended hours allow Total Spectrum to cater to after-school clients. The center features a mock apartment, mock living room and social skills room, where school-aged students can work with technicians and each other, Furman said.
Open year-round, the center offers an expansive 10-week summer program, along with a spring break program so that students can remain engaged during times when they are not attending school. There is also a weekly group night on Tuesdays.
The facility, like the one in Kalamazoo, has immediate openings for new clients of all ages, Furman said.
