Growing With ChildServe: Isaiah's Story

In the spring of 2019, Presha watched closely as various experts from around Des Moines evaluated her son, Isaiah.

"We noticed that Isaiah was having some trouble playing appropriately with friends, so we started looking for answers. He was especially struggling with aggression and elopement (running away)," says Presha. "We had him evaluated by multiple experts throughout Des Moines, and then were referred to a doctor who diagnosed Isaiah with autism."

While receiving a diagnosis was an important step to help Isaiah live a great life, it didn't solve Presha's concerns about his future.

"My biggest concerns were for Isaiah's safety," says Presha. "He has no concept of fear and didn't have appropriate boundaries with others. He was aggressive and prone to running away. I also knew that these factors would hold him back from learning at the same level as his peers. The world of autism was new to us, and so much felt unknown. We were looking for resources anyone could offer that might be of help."

Just a few months later, the family found a resource that would change Isaiah's path in life: the Autism Day Health program at ChildServe. As the only program of its kind in Iowa, Autism Day Health offers specialized weekday care designed for children ages 2 to 5 years old who have a diagnosis of autism.

"Isaiah has grown so much in the last year," says Presha. "He's learned to use communication more effectively, play appropriately with friends, and become more independent in daily living skills. His acts of aggression, property damage, and elopement have decreased drastically."

To make these incredible strides forward, Isaiah has worked hard with support from a whole team of experts at ChildServe: from the specially trained direct care team at Autism Day Health, board certified behavior analysts and mental health professionals, to a pediatrician, and speech and occupational therapists. The team creates a unique care plan based on each child's needs and goals and works together across multiple disciplines to make sure care is consistent and effective.

A New Service Makes a Big Impact: ABA at ChildServe

Over the last two years, ChildServe has been building out another aspect of our autism services that benefit Isaiah: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA and Autism Day Health are two separate programs that work closely together as needed to help children build independence.

ABA is a science that evaluates why a child is doing certain actions or behaviors and how best to teach a child important daily living skills. ABA aims to decrease behavior that makes it difficult for kids to learn or engage with others so they can be successful and safe at school, home, or in the community.

"Autism Day Health and ABA are both individualized services that have been shown to have an immense impact not only on the children in the programs, but also their families," says Shawn Kolb, Autism Program Manager. "While ABA is primarily provided one-on-one, services in Autism Day Health are delivered in a group setting. The combination of both programs, along with other therapies provided at ChildServe, has resulted in amazing outcomes."

For Isaiah, a combination of ABA and Autism Day Health played a crucial role in shaping his growth.

"ABA has been instrumental in helping our family practice the skills Isaiah learns at ChildServe in our own home and in the community," says Presha. "What has been most impressive to me is how they keep working on a certain skill until they find a technique that works for him. It's not a cookie cutter program, instead they take time to learn about him and how he responds best."

ABA and Autism Day Health work together differently depending on each child's needs. Isaiah comes to ChildServe from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. every weekday. During that time, he spends half his day at ABA and half at Autism Day Health, where occupational and speech therapy are also built into his schedule once a week. At most other providers, families would need to drive to multiple appointments and locations to receive these services on the same day. Thanks to ChildServe, Isaiah's family has more time to focus on building up their relationship.

"Isaiah is loving, smart, full of energy, determined, and loves to play outside blowing bubbles, catching bugs, or playing in water," says Presha. "Thanks to ChildServe, we understand Isaiah better and he understands himself and what's expected of him. This has been a learning experience for everyone, and ChildServe has done a tremendous job of walking beside us in our journey. Every time I talk to someone about ChildServe and how they have impacted our family, I tear up. I have not had one single instance where we've been treated like anything other than family—from the moment we walk in the door until we leave."

Behavioral Health Expands at ChildServe

Thanks to generous donors to the Forward Together campaign, kids like Isaiah have access to a beautiful new space to receive care from ChildServe experts: The Variety Behavioral Health Clinic at ChildServe in Johnston.

Variety—the Children's Charity of Iowa donated the lead gift of $1 million to help ChildServe construct the clinic. Their gift, along with generous support from the leadership donors listed below, will enable ChildServe's behavioral health programs to grow from serving 700 children to more than 1,400 children per year.

Leadership Donors

• Variety—the Children's Charity of Iowa
• Polk County Board of Supervisors
• Holmes Murphy
• Cathy and Steve Lacy
• Delta Dental of Iowa
• Iowa Fraternal Order of Eagles
• Daniel Lepley Memorial
• Joyce and Terry Lillis
• In Memory of Ann Wahlig

See Your Impact

With phase one of construction on the Variety Behavioral Health complete the spring of 2020, ChildServe's ABA team in Johnston now has a centralized space to complete their life-changing work. Phase II of construction, which began this fall, will create a designated area for ChildServe's mental health and psychology teams.

To learn how you can support these projects, and other programs and services at ChildServe, please contact Colleen Rogers Messenger CAP® at colleen@childserve.org or 515-251-5572.