CORRECTED: Autism therapy organization BY YOUR SIDE expands westward to Colorado Springs
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct several inaccuracies.
BY YOUR SIDE — Autism Therapy Services (BYS) continues to expand its reach to help children and families with autisum with the opening of its 8415 Explorer Drive office in Colorado Springs May 3.
It is the organization’s seventh location.
When BY YOUR SIDE opened its first Illinois location in 2009, the prevalence rate of autism in children was about one in 150, according to Brad Balduf, the CEO and co-founder of the organization. In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced an estimated 1 in 54 children in the United States have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
“I was an entrepreneur that saw this as a community that dramatically needed help,” Balduf said. “I took it as a challenge and a responsibility in some ways.”
With the rise in diagnoses, BYS opened to offer more services for individuals and families with autism. The first location in the Chicago, Illinois, region received such an overwhelming response that the organization opened four more locations in the region. The expansion didn’t stop there.
“One of our executive team members is based in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, and there was overwheling demand in that market as well,” Balduf said. “So we decided to expand our reach into Norcross, a suburb northeast of Atlanta. We opened that center in the early part of summer 2020.”
The Norcross, Ga., location also received so much interest and demand that BYS has already expanded it earlier this year and is opening another location in Snellville, Ga. With diagnoses growing, Balduf and his team wanted to continue expanding — and chose Colorado Springs as its first western location.
“We are thrilled to open our new facility and help families with children and young adults on the autism spectrum,” Balduf said in a press release announcing the new facility. “We are fortunate to have so many talented employees in our IL and GA operations relocate to the Colorado Springs area to provide immediate assistance.”
BYS offers various services and therapies to help individuals with autism communicate and interact with their environment. While the organization services all ages of individuals with developmental disorders, the majority of BY YOUR SIDE’s clients are between 1 and 17 years old.
When a child or family starts working with BYS, they have access to services like Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA therapy), speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, and even feeding therapy.
“It’s [ABA therapy] a science of looking at behaviors that we want to increase and decreasing behaviors that could be impeding them from learning or hurting them in some way,” Sami Baker, the director of ABA Delivery at BYS, said. “You’re interacting in a way that helps encourage the child to learn certain skills and help them grow to be a successful and independent individual.”
Individuals work with therapists at BYS at the center with the goal of helping them be able to practice the same skills at home. Since 2009, the organization has helped countless individuals. Balduf and Baker agree it’s the everyday miracles and positive experiences that motivate them each day they’re working.
“It’s tough to come in the office in the morning and not smile, because you see these kids that are accomplishing things that we take for granted,” Balduf said. “It’s monumental and everybody celebrates it together.
“We’re not doing it for just one or two kids,” Balduf said. “We’re doing it for a lot of children. It’s very, very rewarding.”
The Colorado Springs center currently has Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and a team of Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs-BTs) on staff to provide ABA therapy, and plans to expand as client demand increases. The center is in the process of developing its occupational and speech therapy services and will offer those soon. The organization also plans to bring BYS Academy, its school readiness program, to the area.
Families interested in services offered at BY YOUR SIDE can visit their website, byyoursideac.com, or call 719-900-5690 to schedule a free in-person consultation at their new location.
During the initial visit, the therapists will meet with the family to understand their needs and how they can best help. The family will receive a tour of the facility and meet the staff that will be working with them each day.
BY YOUR SIDE opened its Colorado Springs location May 3, at 8415 Explorer Drive, Ste. 130.
The BY YOUR SIDE Colorado Springs library room.
The BY YOUR SIDE Colorado Springs playground room.
The BYS Academy will bring a school readiness program for children with autism to Colorado Springs.
The BY YOUR SIDE Colorado Springs superhero room.