The Autism Program Central Illinois Regional Training and Service Center at The Hope Institute for Children and Families (HICF)

Sometime in late May-early June The Autism Program will be moving its facility, which includes the TAP Headquarters as well as TAP’s Central Illinois Center from its present location at 928 S. Spring Street to our new suite at Noll Medical Pavilion, 5220 S. 6th St. Springfield, IL 62703.

Located in the old Doctor’s Hospital Professional Building, this new facility will provide better access and ample parking, as well as increased clinical space for TAP services.

Due to construction, an exact date for the move has not yet been set. If you are scheduling an appointment for this time period please keep in mind the location may change. TAP staff will make every effort to contact families who have appointments scheduled to inform them of any location changes.

This area of the Family Clinic at The Autism Program's (TAP) Central Illinois Regional Training and Service Center is utilized by occupational therapy and speech therapy staff to conduct evaluations and family brief clinic services. Children also utilize the space during respite and as an area for playing, unwinding and meeting physical sensory needs during diagnostic clinics or other clinical services.

This comfortable and inviting room was specifically designed for family consultation. The room is utilized by TAP clinicians for Family Focus Consultation and Functional Assessment for Treatment Planning, for the Applied Behavior Analysis Crisis Clinic and for both the Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy Brief Family Clinics. Small focus groups are also held in this space.

The Social Skills Room is a large room used primarily for social skills groups, but also utilized by Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and BCBA clinical staffs during diagnostic and treatment services. The room is structured, with clearly defined areas for activities and learning and can be modified to meet the specific needs of the group or individuals utilizing the space.

Another portion of the Social Skills Room - this large space is utilized for respite care, sibling support and occasionally multi-disciplinary team meetings.

The Communication Clubhouse is a child and family-friendly computer lab that contains a wide-range of language-based computer programs designed specifically to help teach children with ASD language and communication skills. Parents and their children are welcome to use the communications clubhouse anytime during regular business hours. The Clubhouse is also available to our speech and language therapists and can be used by respite providers for children that receive respite services at The Autism Program.

The Diagnostic Suite at The Autism Program consists of a room where the diagnostic evaluations are conducted complete with a large observation mirror and an observation room/small conference room. For children who cannot tolerate a mirror during evaluation, the suite contains two video cameras and a microphone. Children during evaluation can be observed via the video/audio lead in the observation room and the evaluations can be recorded for use by clinical staff, review by members of the evaluation team and for training purposes.

The Autism Program's Board Maker program is available for use by all parents and providers of Central Illinois through the Family and Community Resource Room. Also, our Family Resource Librarian is available to assist families and providers in designing and creating unique and specific visual supports to meet the needs of their child.

The Family and Community Resource Room is a core outreach program of the Central Illinois Regional Training and Service Center. The FCRR offers a range of free visual supports and ideas as well as maintains a large catalog of games and learning aids that can be loaned to parents and providers across central Illinois.

The Family and Community Resource Room contains a small collection of books, DVDs and materials from which parents and providers can make supports for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. TAP also provides funding to the Early Intervention Childhood Clearinghouse, which maintains the largest collection of autism-specific resources, books and materials in the nation. These materials are available to families and providers, free of charge, through inter-library loan.

The Autism Program provides many samples of materials that can be loaned from the Family and Community Resource Room.

The Autism Program provides many samples of materials that can be loaned from the Family and Community Resource Room.

Annaelise Morgan, MSW, LSW is a licensed social worker with The Autism Program's Central Illinois Regional Training and Service Center. Ms. Morgan completed her MSW at the University of Illinois - Urbana/Champaign. She currently directs the "Getting Along" social skills group program for the Central Illinois Center. Ms. Morgan also oversees the Sibling Support programs provided by the Center, serves as the clinical supervisor and coordinator of the undergraduate social work internship program and serves as a community liaison for the Central Illinois Center. In addition, Ms. Morgan provides clinical services to families through the Family Focus Consultation program and Comprehensive Diagnostic Clinic. Prior to joining the staff of The Autism Program, Ms. Morgan worked for more than a decade as a social worker and parent educator in the Springfield Public School system. She resides in Springfield with her husband Dave and her two children Zoe age 13 and Max age 3.

Julie Alderman, M.A., LCPC, is a licensed clinical counselor with The Autism Program Central Illinois Regional Training and Service Center (TAP-CIC) at The Hope Institute for Children and Families (HICF). Ms. Alderman earned her master's degree in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois-Springfield. She currently serves as the Site Director for TAP-CIC. She is responsible for the development of The Family and Community Resource Room located at the Central site. In addition to her work with families and providers, Ms. Alderman administers The Assessment for Treatment Planning clinical service for the Center and is currently developing a unique social skill survival program for adolescents with Asperger's Syndrome or High Functioning Autism. Ms. Alderman has nearly 20 years of clinical experience working with persons with developmental disabilities and other neurological disorders. Prior to joining The Autism Program, Ms. Alderman was employed in both private practice and at the Department of Health Care Psychology at Memorial Medical Center.

Kim Pollock, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist, heads the diagnostic clinic. Dr. Pollock earned a master's degree in clinical psychology at Illinois State University and completed a doctoral degree in clinical child psychology at The University of Alabama. She completed a doctoral internship at the Des Moines Child and Adolescent Guidance Center. Her professional experience has focused extensively on assessment and intervention with preschool- and school-aged youth with autism and other developmental disabilities, as well as accompanying behavioral difficulties. Other areas of specialization include parent training and parent-child interaction therapy; intervention in youth with histories of sexual and physical abuse; and assessment and treatment of youth with sexual behavior problems. Dr. Pollock practices at The Autism Program Central Illinois Regional Training Center at The Hope Institute for Children and Families (HICF), where she participates in assessment and intervention with autistic and developmentally disabled youth, and in training and consultation at The Hope Institute for Children and Families (HICF) and within the community.

Craig Humphrey, M.S., BCBA, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who works with families in The Autism Program's ABA Crisis Clinic. His professional experience includes work at The Hope Institute for Children and Families (HICF) as a behavior analyst where he develops and monitors behavior support plans and strategies for youth with autism and developmental disabilities. His overall responsibilities in both of these positions include completing functional analyses, data analysis and interpretation, training on operant learning and behavioral intervention/management techniques. Humphrey also works as a behavioral consultant for families and school districts and routinely presents workshops in applied behavior analysis and discrete trial training. He is an adjunct professor at MacMurray College and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Humphrey earned a master's degree in applied psychology/behavior analysis from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn., and a bachelor's degree in biopsychology from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich.

The Autism Program Head Quarters and Central Illinois Center are located at 928 S. Spring Street in Springfield, Illinois, a short distance from the State Capital and downtown Springfield.