Central Texas Autism Academy

Austin, TX - Experts estimate that one in 150 kids will have Autism and a local clinic is expanding its services to better prepare kids with Autism for a classroom setting.

Parents say kids with Autism often have a hard time learning in a group setting, which can make going to school difficult.

That's why the Autism Center is starting up an academy -- to help kids and parents deal with that transition.

Six-year-old Sam Yerly is working on his vocabulary.

He was diagnosed with Autism at age three.

For the past two years, he's been coming to the Central Texas Autism Center for therapy, specifically applied behavior analysis therapy.

"They work on vocabulary, they work on imitation, they work on eye contact, they work on motor skills," said Rebecca Yerly, Sam's mother.

"Autism is a spectrum disorder and that's what makes it difficult and so unique. Each kid is unique," said Kelle Wood Rich, behavior analyst.

Rich opened the center in 2003 to provide one-on-one ABA therapy to kids ages 18 months to 19 years old.

This month the center is expanding with the opening of the Central Texas Autism Academy.

"We're teaching kids how to respond in a group, how to take turns, how to raise their hands, how to transition from activity to activity in a small group setting with highly-trained, board-certified behavior analysts as teachers," Rich said.

The goal is to ease the transition from individual therapy sessions to the classroom.

Sam will be one of the first students.

"We'd like him to go to a school setting, but it is a big jump to go from one-on-one to one on 20 or 25, and so we thought the academy would be a good stepping stone," Yerly said.

The academy will offer small group classes year round to three through seven-year-olds.

Amy Fawell's son Jackson is 10 -- too old for the academy, which she says is too bad.

"If we'd thought earlier about making sure he had social interactions, instead of just teaching him at home, I think we'd have a better time getting him into a school, which is our ultimate goal," Fawell said.

And that's the goal for many parents of kids with Autism: get them the therapy they need so they can go to school and be with other kids.

The purpose of the academy is to help them reach that goal, and make life a bit easier.

"It's one in 150, but until it's in your own household, you just can't understand how hard it is," Fawell said.

Enrollment is still open for the academy and classes start next week.