Clinical Services
CLINICAL SERVICES AT RALEIGH CENTER:
The Raleigh TEACCH Center offers clinical services that are tailored to meet the unique needs of each autistic individual across the lifespan and their family. Services are designed to promote communication, executive function, social skills, and emotion regulation. Parent coaching is provided to help parents understand their child’s unique learning styles.
Diagnostic Evaluations for children, adolescents, and adults
The Raleigh TEACCH® Center provides diagnostic evaluations for children, adolescents, and adults who are thought to have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but have not yet received a diagnosis. Evaluation services are provided for the Raleigh catchment area (Wake, Johnston, Hoke, Harnett, and Cumberland counties), and this center partners with the TEACCH centers in Wilmington and Greenville to provide assessments for our families in the Eastern part of the state. Evaluations focus on diagnosis and recommendations.
Local evaluations: For families in the Raleigh catchment area, evaluations typically last 1 to 1½ days (depending upon complexity of the case and services provided) at the clinic.
Eastern NC counties: For families living in the Greenville and Wilmington catchment areas, the first appointment will occur at those centers and the day-long assessment appointment will occur in Raleigh.
What does an evaluation include?
- Diagnostic interview with individual and/or caregivers and questionnaires
- Review of medical, social, academic, and developmental history
- Testing sessions with the individual using empirically-based assessments including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – 2nd edition (ADOS-2) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale – 2nd edition (CARS2)
- Other additional assessments as needed
Results are shared during an interpretive conference, typically at the end of the diagnostic day. Family members of an adult who is their own guardian are welcome to attend the interpretive conference at the invitation of the individual.
Report with recommendations is mailed to the family or individual (if client as an adult). Reports include individualized, written evaluation summary with a list of recommendations and resources.
Intervention / Therapy Services – Individual
These sessions are available to parents and individuals with autism. They provide an opportunity for parents to learn ways of teaching their child at home and to help deal with behavior problems, self-help and other skills including communication and social skills.
Individualized Parent TEACCHing Sessions are designed to facilitate a collaboration/partnership between TEACCH staff and parents. A key to this collaboration is our underlying philosophy that parents know their child best and that TEACCH can provide information, strategies, and support to address the needs of their child. Individual parent TEACCHing sessions are available to parents of individuals with autism of all ages.
Sessions are time-limited and scheduled once a week. The number of sessions varies depending on the individual’s needs. During the sessions, a therapist works directly with the child to model suggested strategies and then works with the parent to implement these strategies that address the concerns the parent may have.
- Who: Individuals with ASD and their parent(s). At this time, we are only accepting referrals for individuals ages 15 and up.
- Location: Clinic or virtual
- Duration: 45–60 minute session, once per week, attendance for 12-14 weeks
Cognitive behavior therapy is designed for individuals to address social communication challenges, emotional identification and regulation, and coping and problem-solving through psychoeducation and homework. Depending on age and preference, sessions may be individual or may include involvement from parents/family members.
- Age: Individual with ASD with a 7-year language level. At this time, we are only accepting referrals for individuals ages 15 and up.
- Location: Clinic or Virtual
- Duration: 45-minute session, one per week, session total based on need
Intervention / Therapy Services – Group
This group focuses on teaching and practicing skill-focused modules (Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness) which are designed to help individuals improve management of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive instability. New skills are presented each week and homework is assigned for individuals to practice during the week and reviewed in future groups.
- Age: Individuals with ASD age 18 and older
- Location: Virtual Sessions Only
- Duration: 90-minute group session, once per week, attendance for 14+ weeks
Vocational
The TEACCH® School Transition to Employment and Postsecondary Education Program (T-STEP) FREE, evidence-based college class to help autistic students transition to adulthood. The program is for 16–21 year-olds with Autism Spectrum Disorder who will or have received a Future-Ready Core high school diploma.
The TEACCH Employment Services Program serves older persons with autism, helping them to become as independent as possible by assisting them in finding and maintaining useful employment in stable, predictable and rewarding work environments. Since its inception in 1989, this program has used a variety of job support models to assist more than 500 people with autism to secure gainful employment and to become productive, tax-paying members of their communities. The components of the Employment Services Program are vocational assessment, job development, intensive training, and long-term support. Individuals are not required to receive all components of this service. Employment Services receives funding through North Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Services and a referral should come from your local VR office.
Support and Education
The Raleigh TEACCH® Center offers FREE parent information seminars for parents with a goal to ensure that all parents of children or family members of individuals with a diagnosis of ASD have access to information that will help them to better understand autism as well as the associated behaviors and learning differences that accompany this disorder. The focus of parent information seminars is to increase families’ understanding of autism spectrum disorder, to better understand the learning, social, communication, and behavioral needs of individuals with ASD; and to understand your child or family member’s unique characteristics. It is hoped that these seminars will give parents information to help them problem-solve and advocate for their family member with ASD.
All seminars are a combination of lecture, discussion, and limited time for individual questions. Parent information seminars are offered virtually several times throughout the year.
This free service is provided to families of children under the age of 4 years who are currently on our waitlist. Focus of the series is on an introduction into the use of naturalistic, developmental, behavioral, and Structured TEACCHing strategies to be used in the home and community. The series runs for a total of 6 weeks, and meets for 1 ¾ hours, and is virtual. This is offered in both English and Spanish.
Consultation to Schools, Group Homes, and Other Agencies
TEACCH provides consultation services to local school systems, group homes, and other agencies providing services to autistic individuals and their families. Agencies can request consultation for a program and an individual client. Please call your local TEACCH office at 919-445-5800 for more information.