Families dealing with autism will have a new resource available through a center opening this fall in Altoona. The Homestead will open the Autism Center, an intervention and training center at 1625 Adventureland Drive, later this month.

The 9,000-square-foot center, located in the former Prairie Meadows administration building, will offer direct intervention services to children with autism as well as provide training and support to families and schools.

“The center is referred to as Sally’s Clubhouse, in honor of one of our key founding board members, Sally Pederson,” said Steve Muller, the Homestead’s executive director. “She was instrumental in pulling this together.”

The private, nonprofit organization has provided services and programs for children and adults with autism for the past 15 years. Autism, a neurological disorder that severely hinders the way information is processed, occurs in approximately one of every 110 births.

The Mid-Iowa Health Foundation provided the single-largest donation to the project – $54,500. Other major donors were Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino and the Aviva Charitable Foundation, which each donated $10,000.

The Autism Center will utilize Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services, which are research-based techniques geared specifically for children with autism, Muller said.

“The exciting thing is that we’ve seen some changes in children using this program,” he said. Research has shown that frequent, early application of ABA may eliminate the symptoms of autism for up to half of children who participate, and alleviate the symptoms for up to 90 percent, he said. Between 20 and 40 hours of specialized instruction is needed each week to be effective.

“One of the keys is that we didn’t want to replace the existing schools, but to really work alongside the schools so kids could stay in their schools and the communities,” Muller said. Most children will go through the program for nine months to one year.

The Homestead is currently hiring additional staff for the center, which is also taking applications for children to serve. “We expect to begin having children come in later this month,” Muller said.

For more information, visit the Homestead’s website at www.thehomestead.org.