April is National Autism Awareness Month, and the Central Texas Autism Center is working to inform the public about the disorder and how therapy can help children diagnosed with it.

The CTAC mailed out about 100 packets to local preschools and doctors in Austin this month to promote autism awareness, founder and Executive Director Kelle Wood Rich said. Staff participated in the national awareness campaign of the Autism Speaks organization, and on April 24, CTAC is set to hold one of its free educational workshops for parents of children with autism.

"Early intervention is just key," Rich said, noting statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show one in every 88 children born nationally are diagnosed with autism.

At the CTAC, board-certified behavior analysts—who must complete 1,500 hours of supervised training after earning a master's degree—offer applied behavioral analysis therapy for children with autism and other developmental disabilities, Rich said. Analysts at the CTAC see children for between four and 15 hours per week and assess behaviors such as those related to communication, academic achievement and personal hygiene. They then use therapy including one-on-one sessions to help improve those behaviors, Rich said.

The group also works with local school districts to evaluate programs and to conduct assessments of students' needs. The CTAC works with Austin, Hutto, Lake Travis, Cedar Park and Leander ISDs, she said.

She said while results of applied behavioral analysis therapy vary, in some cases children have been able to transition into a general classroom with very little support. She cited other cases in which doctors told parents their children would never speak, and those children are now talking and communicating.

"[We've worked with] kids [whose] parents said, 'We've never been able to go out to a restaurant because of this child's behavior, or to the grocery store,' and now they can go out together as a family," she said. "It's just life-changing."

The cost of providing care to a child with autism during his or her life span is $2.3 million, she said. The CTAC offers free workshops, events at local schools, and within the past few years, insurance began covering some CTAC services. Therapy costs $80 per hour, while workshops range between $10 and $20 at the CTAC, located at 3006 Bee Caves Road Ste. B-200. More information is available at www.ctac1.com.