Autism Center at Everett hospital to officially open in August

EVERETT — It’s the biggest expansion of services since Providence Children’s Center moved into new quarters in 2002.

In August, the 3,000-square-foot Providence Autism Center will be opened on the fifth floor of Providence’s Pavilion for Women and Children on Pacific Avenue in Everett — the first center of its kind in Snohomish County.

Construction is expected to cost about $480,000. And donations to the Providence General Foundation, many from the annual Festival of Trees program, will allow total program grants to reach $1.5 million over the next five years, said Lori Kloes, the foundation’s development director.

The autism center will include a large classroom where most of the activities and services to children will take place. Two nearby rooms will allow parents to observe specialists working with their children, said Darren Redick, Providence’s vice president for support services.

The center, which will officially open on Aug. 11, has been a longtime dream of the children’s center manager, Christie Tipton.

Washington has a relatively high incidence rate of autism, with about one in 62 children getting the diagnosis, she said. Nationally, the rate is one out of every 68 children, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We have the greatest capacity to affect a change in children with autism between 3 and 6 years of age,” Tipton said. “If you get in early and help a child maximize their potential, you don’t have to undo the learned behaviors they pick up as they’re struggling with this disorder.”

Autism spectrum disorder is a lifelong developmental disability that can include problems with social communication and interaction as well as repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.

The children’s center now assists 1,200 children a year with physical and developmental issues. This includes about 225 kids who either have autism or may be diagnosed with it. They receive special help in appointments about once a week.

The new autism center will allow these children to get much more intensive help, 15 hours a week over 12 weeks. Parents are required to participate in seven hours per week of educational activity. The sessions could help up to 64 kids and their parents a year.

A small group of seven children and their parents will launch the program next month as a test group. The program is expected to ramp up with morning and afternoon classes beginning in the fall.

Children on the autism spectrum can have symptoms ranging from mild to severe. “In that range, every single child has different characteristics, with some children having language skill problems and others having sensory problems,” Tipton said.

“Oftentimes, they don’t like to be touched or hugged, they can’t handle loud noises or bright lights or crowded environments, and they’re not able to calm themselves when they get over-stimulated,” she said.

When people see a young child in the grocery store having an emotional meltdown, “we all jump to the conclusion that it’s a bad kid and bad parents,” Tipton said.

Tricia Benfield, of Arlington, and her son Lawson, who turns 4 next month, have received services through the children’s center since he was 2.

Read the Benfields’ story here.

“There are a lot of people who don’t have any idea of what autism is,” she said. “It affects every aspect of their life, their way of being, their way of experiencing the world.”

The things that are bothersome to them are things an average person would think are ridiculous, she said. “But a child with autism, it disrupts their body in so many ways. I just want people to know that.”

Benfield said she’s delighted that she and her son will be included in the autism center’s first intensive program for children and their families.

It’s an extension of what specialists have been working on with Lawson. “But to have a program that’s focusing on him five days a week for seven weeks, that’s an opportunity I would never miss,” she said.

The half-day sessions will enable kids to focus on what can be challenging tasks, from following simple classroom rules such as taking turns, problem solving and resolving conflicts to surmounting transitions in stride, such as moving from one task to another, which can trigger upsets.

“I’m excited for the opportunity,” Benfield said. “I feel blessed that they offered this to my son.”

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.