Verbal Beginnings expands its in-person services into a new state
Columbia, Maryland-based autism therapy provider Verbal Beginnings is expanding its center-based early intervention business into Virginia.
The company currently operates six locations in Maryland, the only state where it does so. It offers in-home services in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The new center will open in Alexandria, Virginia, some time in November, according to an announcement from the company.
“After serving so many families through our existing in-home services in Virginia for so long, opening a physical location in the Alexandria area was a natural way to give parents a center-based option for their children,” Diana Wolf, founder and co-CEO of Verbal Beginnings, said in the announcement.
Verbal Beginnings offers early intervention applied behavior analysis (ABA), speech-language pathology (SLP) and occupational therapy (OT).
The company will accommodate 35 families and maintain a one-to-one therapist ratio at the new center, the announcement states.
Nick Chappell and Diana Wolf co-founded Verbal Beginnings in 2011.
ABS Kids opens 11th center in 2024
Salt Lake City-based autism therapy provider ABS Kids announced the 11th center it opened in the year so far — in San Diego’s Mira Mesa neighborhood.
The autism therapy provider has opened six locations in California, all in the southern reaches of the state.
The reality in our region is that children here are in need of proven, effective autism therapy services,” ABS Kids California Regional Vice President Francisco Chavez said in an announcement from the company.
The investment firms Petra Capital Partners, based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital back the company.
This year, the company’s growth continues, already nearly matching its growth in 2023. Last year, ABS Kids nearly doubled its footprint by opening 13 new centers. Its previously newest center opened in Ogden, Utah, its 13th in the state.
ABS Kids operates in California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.
Lighthouse Autism Center to deepen footprint in Iowa
Mishawaka, Indiana-based Lighthouse Autism Center announced its sixth clinic in Iowa.
The autism therapy provider will open the location in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a city in the Central Eastern part of the Hawkeye State. Founded in 2012, Lighthouse Autism Center now lists 38 locations on its website.
The clinic is slated to open before the end of the year. It will employ 35 staff and serve 25 families, according to an announcement from the company. It will offer ABA, speech therapy, autism diagnostic testing, virtual parent training and pre-academic learning.
Backed by Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm, Lighthouse has significantly increased its scale in the last four years. At that time, it operated about two dozen sites in two states. Now it operates in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska and North Carolina.
The company is also offering care from dual-certified clinicians that are both speech-language pathologists and board-certified behavior analysts through its Fusion Therapy program, a clinical tactic that maximizes ABA services but has serious financial constraints.
In 2024, Lighthouse Autism Center announced six center openings, according to a review of company announcements.
Developing autism therapy franchise provider Able Autism Therapy announces new partners
Able Autism Therapy has announced its first franchise partner.
Founded in August 2021, the Atlanta-based autism therapy provider and franchise provider has a deal with Barbara Rodriguez and Mario Martinez to establish a location in Grayson, Georgia — a town northeast of Atlanta.
“We are passionate about the autism community and are excited to share our services with more and more areas through our franchise model,” Demirci said.
Demirci described Rodriguez and Martinez as “experienced engineers with a compassion for the autism community.”
Able Autism Therapy owns and operates two locations in Georgia and one in Tennessee. The company started the process of developing a franchise concept in 2023.
Previously, Demirci said Able Autism Therapy Services aimed to sell two franchises by the end of 2024 and hopes to have 50 franchises sold in five years.
The franchise model is nascent in the behavioral health space. But it is one where there is some lively activity. Often, entrepreneurs and clinicians partner with local financial institutes to start operations with debt financing. Larger and more mature organizations have invited private equity firms to trade ownership for cash. Franchises offer an alternative path for new behavioral health ventures.
Houston, Texas-based Success on the Spectrum created SOS Franchising to franchise its brand. Other franchise companies include Essential Speech and ABA Therapy and Autism Optimism.
This franchise play has been seen in the outpatient mental health space. Mendota Heights, Minnesota-based Ellie Mental Health has become one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. (regardless of industry) using this model.