Autism Therapy Provider Expanding with Illinois Clinics

By HCO Staff

NAPERVILLE & SCHAUMBURG, Ill.—To help meet the growing need for therapy services for children with autism in Illinois, Action Behavior Centers (ABC), one of the country’s largest autism services providers, announced it will expand its footprint by opening 10 new Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy centers in the state, beginning this month with centers opening in Naperville and Schaumburg.

“Families in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs deserve access to the highest quality ABA services,” said Hersh Sanghavi, CEO at Action Behavior Centers. “As a former Chicagoan myself, I’m beyond excited to offer life-altering services to children with autism. I’m equally thrilled to partner with local clinicians—Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), therapists and psychologists in the community. Action’s model is built on serving our clinicians and creating an unparalleled work culture such that they are inspired and have the tools to serve our families.”

With more than 70 ABA therapy centers established throughout Texas, Arizona, and Colorado, ABC currently provides autism therapy services to thousands of children with autism and their families. Once opened, the 10 Illinois centers will have capacity to provide services to more than 500 children. Action specialized in Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention, an evidence-based treatment for young children on the spectrum.

“The science is pretty clear. The earlier in a child’s life that we can diagnose autism and provide the requisite services, the higher is the efficacy of the therapy,” said Dr. Claire Schutte, head psychologist at Action Behavior Centers. “The biggest barrier to access is typically the evaluation and diagnosis. Action employs psychologists and our BCBAs are trained to conduct a variety of assessments including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. By partnering with Pediatricians and Pediatric Neurologists, we can significantly reduce those access barriers for families.”

Through its expansion, Action will also create 750 new jobs in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, including therapists, BCBAs and licensed psychologists. Once hired, ABC teammates have the opportunity to participate in a plethora of company programs including “ABC Foundations” which helps therapists tackle the burden of student loan debt and support further education.

The Naperville and Schaumburg ABC facilities will be located at 1840 Centre Point Circle, Suite 108, Naperville, IL 60563; and 915 National Parkway, Suite 915-60 Schaumburg, IL 60173; respectively. ABC expects to open a third location in Burr Ridge later this month.