It’s the first autism clinic in eastern Idaho, owners say. Here’s where it is and what it offers
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IDAHO FALLS – The first autism clinic in eastern Idaho is now open at 700 South Woodruff in Idaho Falls and the community is invited to celebrate.
Opal Autism Center is celebrating its grand opening Tuesday with pony rides, a petting zoo, bounce houses, face painting, giveaways, food and more. It’s happening from 4 to 6 p.m.
Pamela Bartsch, the senior clinic director for all the Idaho locations, is excited to unveil the eastern Idaho location.
Bartsch describes Opal Autism Centers as an “early intervention ABA clinic” that serves kids ages 2 to 6. The goal of the clinic is to prepare kids on the autism spectrum to enter school.
“We hope to transition them out when they’re around kindergarten or first-grade age level into a public school setting with the tools they have learned here,” Bartsch tells EastIdahoNews.com.
The type of skills that are taught varies for each child, but the overall approach is called applied behavior analysis. When working with clients, Bartsch says the idea is to “meet them where they’re at” and make it feel like they’re coming to play.
The clinic also provides autism testing for families who’ve never received an official diagnosis.
All employees are registered behavior technicians and are supervised by a board certified behavior analyst.
Idaho Falls is the site of the first Opal Autism Center in eastern Idaho, Bartsch says, and the third in the state. There are other locations in Meridian and Eagle.
Bethany Ricks, director of the Idaho Falls clinic, says there aren’t many behavior analysts in eastern Idaho, which is part of the reason there hasn’t been a clinic offering these types of services on this side of the state.
Ricks has a son with autism and collaborated with Bartsch in bringing it to eastern Idaho. It’s the kind of clinic Ricks wished would’ve been available to her 10 years ago.
“I used to work for the (Idaho Dept. of Health and Welfare’s) infant toddler program in our region. I stopped working because of my son’s needs,” Ricks explains. “When I heard about Opal, I vetted them. I went out to Eagle because I wanted to make sure this was a good company. It’s amazing.”
Ricks got a master’s degree after quitting her previous job in hopes of doing something like this. She applied for a job with the company several years ago and starting working with Bartsch to open the Idaho Falls clinic.
“I want to be able to help families,” Ricks says. “It’s a hard, lonely place sometimes and so I wanted … to give those resources to others.”
The building on Woodruff was formerly occupied by Century 21 High Desert, which has since moved to 700 Memorial Drive. The pair felt the Woodruff space was centrally-located for the area. Its design with an open space in the middle and smaller rooms with windows connected to it was also appealing, Bartsch says.
“This floor plan is exactly what we look for,” she says.
After about a month of business, Bartsch says they’ve already acquired multiple clients and can accommodate up to 14 kids.
“Our plan is to grow in the next year or two to make room for what’s to come,” says Bartsch.
Though the clinic is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, staff members work with clients’ schedules in that timeframe, based on individual needs.
“We’re really excited to be here in eastern Idaho and to serve our community, for families to get help and services for their kiddos with autism,” Bartsch says.
For more information, call (888) 392-8642 or visit the website.
