New Special Needs Clinic to Open in Pikesville

Connec-to-Talk, a privately owned behavioral, speech, and occupational therapy practice for children will open the doors to their new location at 1700 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, MD, on June 1st. Renovation is nearing completion on this new 2,000-square-foot state of the art center that will provide services to children throughout Baltimore County affected by autism and other developmental disabilities.

“Our goal is to provide the convenience of many therapeutic services under one roof,” said Nika Williams-Arbelo, Connec-to-Talk’s co-founder, managing partner, and former University of Maryland, College Park graduate. “Parents will enjoy the benefit of being able to have their children receive all of their needed services in one location. This is a huge added benefit for parents of children with special needs that are often pulled in many directions, driving to service providers all throughout the region,” said Jennifer Basch, Connec-to-Talk’s other co-founder and managing partner.

The new center will focus on early intervention services for children diagnosed with developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders. According to The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) autism affects 1 in 68 children. “We are seeing children diagnosed earlier and earlier. In some instances, we start working with them before they have received a formal diagnosis because we believe that you treat the child not the diagnosis,” said Williams-Arbelo. Research has found that early intervention for children on the autism spectrum can help children and their families cope with some of the issues and help the children succeed later in school and with friendships. With recent state mandates passed, insurance is required to cover autism services making early intervention services much more accessible.

Basch and Williams-Arbelo met while in graduate school. “We both shared a vision of opening a private practice, “said Williams-Arbelo. Their vision became a reality in 2003 when they started Connec-to-Talk, a clinic based in Wilton, CT. “We began with a speech clinic and quickly expanded our practice to include behavior and occupational therapies. We’ve seen a lot of success with the model we’ve created” said, Basch. Connec-to-Talk is designed to provide services in a trans-disciplinary model where all service providers work together for the child. Speech, occupational, and applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapies are provided in the center. However, services can also be coordinated with external clinics. In addition, Connec-to-Talk offers parent training, life skills training, and group therapy. “It’s truly a turn-key center,” said Basch. The new location in Pikesville, Maryland will be the owner’s fourth location and the first out of state office. “We were fortunate enough to have one of our Directors relocate to the Maryland area so we see this as an opportunity to provide the same level of quality service to a new region,” said Williams-Arbelo.

CONTACT: Nika Williams-Arbelo (203)210-7124 ext.14; nika@connec-to-talk.com

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