Family Support Services

Family and Individual Support Services

The development of CSAAC’s Family and Individual Support Services (FISS) facilitates the process of helping children with autism realize their goals and dreams while remaining in their own home and community. The supports are individually designed to foster independence in self-care, communication, appropriate social participation, and accessing community resources.

FISS Technicians are committed to working with families to develop working partnerships with parents and caretakers and offer support that will ensure consistency in the implementation of functional based programming. The goal is to coordinate various services and optimize the independent functioning of the participant in his or her community. Instead of having services abruptly removed when the child returns home, the services are comprehensive and ongoing, and, therefore more effective. These services also may provide the participant’s family a break from their daily stresses. CSAAC strives to bring a holistic approach to the development, enhancement, and support of both the child and family through this array of Family and Individual Support Services.

Flexibility is central to the provision of services through FISS.  A specific, individually tailored treatment plan is created with each child based upon his or her needs or level of functioning. This plan addresses the behavioral, social, communication, and educational needs of the individual served.

Individuals and their families may be referred for CSAAC’s FISS program by a variety of professionals such as service coordinators, teachers or social workers.

CSAAC offers the following types of support services:

*Intensive Individual Support.  Services are provided in the child’s home or in the community where they learn self-help skills and chores normally practiced in the home.

*In-home Respite Care. CSAAC provides this service directly in the child’s home.  Parents do not have to present while their child receives structured recreation with supervision, allowing them an opportunity to break outside of the home.  

*Family Training. Family trainers create individualized treatment plans for program participants.  Trainers are master’s-level professionals in the following disciplines and capacities—social work, special education, speech pathology, occupational therapy, psychology, and licensed counseling—and available to address any concerns parents may have.    

To learn more about these services, or to receive an information packet, contact Janet Burch at jburch@csaac.org