Treat Child Learning Disabilities, Developmental Disabilities- Boston MA

Programs and Therapies

The Lurie Family Autism Center/LADDERS is a highly successful program designed to evaluate and treat children and adults with a wide variety of developmental and handicapping conditions. Our mission is to provide the highest quality clinical, social, and support services to those diagnosed with autism, pervasive developmental disorders, and other developmental disabilities.

The Lurie Family Autism Center/LADDERS is unique because of the population it serves and because it uses a multidisciplinary approach that begins with comprehensive medical evaluations and extends to supporting the well-being of patients and families. Nurses, social workers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, neuro-psychologists, special education professionals, and family members are involved in the treatment processes in addition to physicians. Each has a depth of expertise in their respective field.

Timothy Buie, MD, with a patient

The team, as a unit, plays an integral role in the continuum of care for individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities.

Our services and therapies include:

Extensive diagnostic evaluations
Medical, cognitive, and behavioral interventions including speech and language
Therapy, occupational and physical therapy, and psychological evaluation and counseling;
Parent skills training and family empowerment
Referral support for additional medical and educational resources at locations near each patient’s home and throughout the New England region.

The Lurie Family Autism Center/LADDERS is committed to improving the medical, social, and psychological well-being of children, adolescents, adults, and families. To this end, our goals and objectives are to:

Margaret Bauman, MD, with a patient

Provide a stable, consistent, and structured environment within a medical context
Provide opportunities for each individual to achieve
Develop self-control, social skills, and self-esteem in each individual
Support and educate families in order to transfer the learned skills to home, school, work, and community environments
Provide teaching to physicians and professionals in training and to pursue research related to the treatment and causes of autism, pervasive developmental disorders, and other devlopmental disorders of the central nervous system.

With respect to the support and education of families, the Lurie Family Autism Center/LADDERS staff believe that it is crucial that families become strong advocates for their children. In order to facilitate this empowerment, parents are given appropriate information about their family member's disorder, about the community resources that are available to them, and about their rights as parents under Massachusetts education laws. Our staff also assist in obtaining services for clients over the age of 22 years.