New UNLV autism center is most visible sign yet of budding medical school

One of the most visible components of the budding UNLV medical school debuts Thursday as officials open the doors on a downtown center that will provide a comprehensive suite of diagnostic services and treatment for children and young adults with autism.

The UNLV Medicine Ackerman Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Solutions will provide autistic children and adults up to age 22 with a facility that will address their needs, no matter where they are on the autism spectrum, said Barbara Atkinson, founding dean of the UNLV School of Medicine.

“What children need is to have the earliest possible diagnosis, so this is going to be a spot for full service — from the first diagnosis through treatment,” she said.

The center, a partnership between the school and the Grant a Gift Autism Foundation, also will provide support services for the parents and siblings of those individuals.

“We’re making this a medical home for the family of the child with autism,” Atkinson said.

The clinic at 630 S. Rancho Drive, Suite A, about 5 miles northwest of the UNLV campus, is one of the first completed health care outposts of the university’s nascent School of Medicine, which is scheduled to open July 2017 if the school’s request for preliminary accreditation is approved next week and it keeps to its ambitious schedule.

Atkinson, who has a 10-year-old grandson with autism, said she has seen firsthand the positive impact of early intervention and intensive treatment. She also was inspired to develop an autism center by the work done at a smaller clinic operated by UNLV’s education department.

The center, which opened on a limited basis in July, currently accepts patients with Amerigroup insurance and is expected to accept Medicaid and Culinary Health Fund insurance plans by Jan. 1.

Administrators are working to add additional insurers, and to provide access to patients without insurance through scholarships from the Grant a Gift Autism Foundation.

Gary Ackerman, a foundation board member whose name will grace the autism center, said Thursday’s ribbon-cutting will be the culmination of an effort that dates to 1991, when his now 32-year-old son was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

“There were no specialists in Nevada who could diagnose him or help him,” he said. “Today in Las Vegas it’s better but not a whole bunch better.”

Ackerman praised the facility, which also will aid children with autism as they transition into teenage and adult years by offering services such as vocational training.

“It’s been a dream for so long,” he said. “It’s a very emotional topic for me because it’s so personal.”

UNLV said the staff will include health care providers, geneticists, family medicine and psychology specialists and will provide services including neuropsychological and developmental assessment and treatment, pediatric and adult genetics testing and social and behavioral services.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 68 U.S. children has a disorder on the autism spectrum, “developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.” Diagnosis of the disorder had increased sharply in recent years.

Grant a Gift Autism Foundation founder and president Lynda Tache said one of the center’s goals is to improve quality of life for children like her now 15-year-old son, Grant, who was diagnosed as autistic about 10 years ago.

“We want to help families. I don’t want anyone to have to have it as tough and feel as alone as I did,” she said in a news release announcing the opening.

Though there is no known cure for autism, clinics that provide a full range of services can make things easier for both patients and families, Tache said.

“It’s a lifelong journey of making sure that your child has every opportunity to reach their full potential,” she said.

Contact Pashtana Usufzy at pusufzy@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4563. Follow @pashtana_u on Twitter.