LHS Maumee Youth Center for Asperger’s Disorder Opens

News from LHS Family and Youth Services, Inc., September 18, 2002

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A new residential center for children and youth ages six to eighteen-plus who have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Disorder is opening. The Center is situated on 13 acres near Neapolis, Ohio, south of Toledo, Ohio.  LHS Family and Youth Services, Inc. is a social service agency with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, serving children, youth and families through community-based residential treatment group homes and other services.

The agency, founded in 1860, is best known in Ohio for working with multiple-need, high-risk children and youth.  Mr. Harry Blackmon, a thirty-three year veteran of working with children and youth in residential care and treatment, serves as Executive Director.

"Over the years, " says Mr. Blackmon, "LHS Family and Youth Services has worked with several children and youth who were diagnosed with and had Asperger's Disorder. Based on that experience, and experience in working with aggressive, high-risk youth, we began to explore the possibility of serving children and youth with Asperger’s in a specific location with programming specific to their needs."

The LHS Maumee Youth Center for Asperger’s Disorder serves up to twenty children and youth in its residential program. Most children and youth placed in the residential setting will tend to be aggressive and have multiple diagnosis/needs. "The Center fits in with what we do best, but it is, of course, not for every young person with Aspergers," says Mr. Blackmon. "I anticipate working with those young people with Aspergers who have not been able to be in a home setting, may be in the juvenile justice system, may be mis-diagnosed or have multiple diagnosis and are currently in a residential setting not appropriate for them, or who need a more structured environment due to aggressive behaviors." Best practices in the field and family centered practice where applicable will be implemented. "The goal is always to reunify children with their families when possible," says Mr. Blackmon. "Healthy integration into society is inherent in treatment plans," he adds.

All staff, in addition to their undergraduate and graduate work, are trained in the core competencies of residential child and youth care and will be trained by experts in the autistic spectrum disorder field to work with children and youth with Asperger’s Disorder. Dr. Nancy Carroll serves as the Center’s psychiatrist and Rick Skidmore, a licensed independent social worker, serves as the Center’s therapist. The Disorder was initially identified by Hans Asperger in 1944 in Austria, and was classified as a Pervasive Developmental Disorder in 1994. It is a neurobiological disorder generally considered to be on the Autism spectrum. Current research studies have shown the rate of incidence of Asperger’s Disorder to be 1 in every 250 people. "We anticipate serving children, youth and families from throughout Ohio, the Midwest, and from other parts of the country," says Mr. Blackmon. LHS Family and Youth Services is licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and certified through the Ohio Department of Mental Health. It is a member of the Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies and the Asperger Syndrome Coalition of the U.S.

For additional information on the Center, or to make an inquiry regarding a potential referral to the Center, please contact 419-798-9382.  Referrals are presently being taken for LHS Maumee Youth Center for Asperger's Disorder.