LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Students can struggle in school, especially when they have difficulty learning or even communicating. To further support students, a local clinic aims to provide a safe place to learn for families facing challenges.
In honor of National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, Tricia Kean learns more about a Las Vegas academy making a difference for valley families.
"You know, I think it gets emotional for parents to go through this," said Jeremy Rohloff, the father of two children with special needs.
NO HANDBOOK
"One of the hard things about being a parent of autistic kids is there's not like a handbook, right?" Rohloff said. "They don't say 'hey, here's everything you need to know'."
He and his wife tried a traditional school setting with their oldest, but says it didn't work out.
"It was a tough fit," Rohloff said. "It was tough to even get like five seconds with the teacher to have a conversation, let alone to figure out maybe some solutions."
That's when they tried the Accelerated Learning Clinic and Academy on South Durango Drive, near Russell Road
"We think everybody can achieve success given the right tools," said Licensed Behavior Analyst and Co-Founder, Dr. Gwen Johnson.
She points out Nevada is identified as one of the least supportive states for raising a child with autism, according to Autism Parenting Magazine.
To make services more easily accessible to valley families, the academy provides multiple services under one roof.
MULTIPLE SERVICES
"We offer education, applied behavior analysis, speech services, occupational physical therapy and we also have adaptive fitness here," Johnson said.
CFO and Co-Founder, Jennifer Samuel, says the one stop location is key to their operation.
"My son, who is now 22 years old, he also is on the autism spectrum," Samuel said. "The Academy is very important to me and a personal mission just because, again these services were not available to my son. So we're paying it forward."
She says Accelerated Learning offers one on one services that ultimately aim to put a child back in a classroom setting. Assistance is available for children as young as two, along with kindergarten and first through fifth grades.
"Our goal is to add a year, each year a grade level, and eventually become preschool through high school so our students can achieve a high school diploma," Samuel said.
Jeremy says the academy is making a major difference for his family when it comes to educational and behavioral growth for his boys, while providing guidance for mom and dad.
"Knowing that you have professionals that can give you some tools and help you realize that, hey, here are things that are normal, they're just different. So that helps out quite a bit," Rohloff said.
OPEN HOUSE
The Accelerated Learning Clinic and Academy is hosting an open house on April 1st, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Take the time to check out their facility and ask questions. Plus, they'll have face painting, arts and crafts and more for children.
