Hopebridge expands in North Carolina
Indianapolis, Indiana-based provider Hopebridge is opening two new North Carolina-based autism centers.
The new centers will be in Wilmington and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This will bring the provider’s total to 10 centers in the state. Hopebridge notes that the new openings will create more than 100 jobs in the state.
The new centers will offer various autism therapy support programs, including diagnosis and applied behavioral analysis (ABA) evaluations, ABA therapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, feeding and swallowing therapy, and family guidance.
Hopebridge operates over 100 centers across Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio and Tennessee.
New ABS Kids centers in California and Tennessee
Autism provider ABS Kids is opening two new facilities in Tennessee and one new center in California. The Tennessee locations include an ABA center in Murfreesboro and a behavioral technician training center in Nashville.
Meanwhile, it will also open an ABA center in Chula Vista, California. This will bring the provider’s reach to four centers in the San Diego metro area.
ABS Kids offers ABA services, personalized therapy, diagnostic assessment services and treatment planning. The provider has locations in California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.
“Our mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of children with autism, and this new ABA center will allow us to reach even more families in need of high-quality therapy and diagnostic services across the city,” ABS Kids Regional Vice President Francisco Chavez said in a statement. “Providing access to this care is part of our vision, and we are striving to meet that increasing need in California. Like other locations, this new center is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, resources and experts to deliver personalized and compassionate care to each child.”
Midwestern expansion
Autism therapy provider Stride Autism Centers is opening a new center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The provider said this new opening is part of its plans to expand its service throughout the Midwest. The new center will provide one-on-one ABA services to children ages 2 to 6 with autism.
“With each new center we open, we are committed to filling the critical need for accessible, high-quality autism therapy services,” Brad Zelinger, Founder and CEO of Stride, said in a statement. “As a Midwesterner myself, I’m particularly driven to extend Stride’s services to underserved communities throughout the Midwest. It’s about creating opportunities for more children and their families to achieve greater independence and an improved quality of life.”
Stride operates ABA centers in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Emergency department lands new autism certification
Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital’s pediatric emergency department is now a Certified Autism Center, making it the first emergency department in New Jersey to earn this designation.
To receive the designation, 80% of doctors, nurses, and patient-facing department staffers must complete a training and certification program.
“We appreciate this designation as it recognizes the work we continue to do to care for the children and families who entrust their care to us,” Dr. Stephen Percy, chair of pediatrics at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center, said in a statement. “Our team and the programs and services we provide within developmental medicine speak to our commitment to an autism-friendly culture and environment, which supports the unique needs and challenges of the community we serve.”
The University of Missouri’s Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Relocates
The University of Missouri’s Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment is relocating to South Providence Medical Park in 2026.
The center said that the move will help expand its capacity to care for more individuals with autism. More than 2,000 children are waiting for a diagnostic evaluation from the center. In a release, the center said that the relocation will help double its annual visitor capacity.