KGH Autism Services Is Providing Support For The Whole Family

KGH Autism Services is a recognized Behavioral Health Center of Excellence and a leading provider in autism care. The state-of-the-art center located in the North Shore area provides individualized care and a multidisciplinary team, offering ABA therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, mental health services and social skills groups to individuals as young as infancy through young adulthood.

Kim Garvey Hoehne, MA., BCBA, founder and CEO of KGH Autism Services, believes in personalizing all treatment plans to meet individual needs, while providing support for the whole family. Learn more about Hoehne and her autism support and awareness efforts in this exclusive Patch one-on-one:

Patch: How long have you been doing business in town or how long has the organization you represent been around in the community?

Hoehne: KGH opened its doors in 2001 in Glenview and relocated to Northbrook in 2006. KGH purchased and moved into a building on Lake Cook Road in Deerfield this past June 2018. Our results-driven therapy center is the longest autism care provider of the North Shore area (over 17 years!). This new relocation has allowed us to expand our services to be able to help more families from infancy through young adulthood in the community and surrounding North Shore area.

Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you’re in, and how did you get started?

Hoehne: When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I didn’t have an answer for them until I was 5 or 6. From that point on, I would tell them, “I want to wear Mickey Mouse t-shirts and help kids.” I had no idea what that meant, but that is what it looked like in my mind.

Fast forward 14 years and I’m a 19-year-old sophomore in college studying psychology. Needing money to support my late-night-studying pizza habit, I found a flyer on my psychology bulletin board saying work with a boy with autism for $8 per hour. I had no idea what autism was, but was interested because the library was only paying a little over $4. That’s a lot of pizza, I was thinking to myself! So I called the number on the flyer.

Next thing I knew, I was knocking on the door of this little boy’s house. Upon entering, this cute little boy, who refused to make eye contact, gave me this worn out, well-loved teddy bear. His father quickly offered me the job. When I inquired as to the rush of the offer, the dad said ‘watch’. He then attempted to grab the teddy bear from my hands and the little boy began what I could best describe as a full-blown meltdown – screaming, hitting, crying, etc. Once the decibel level came down enough and I could hear over the ringing in my ears from this microburst of behaviors, the dad of the little boy told me that his son has never given up his teddy bear, and that I was the first person he ever offered it to. I didn’t realize it then, but I found my calling. Or better yet, this little boy, Johnny, found it for me!

Leaving the house with a treatment schedule, I immediately thought, “What am I getting myself into?”

I’ve always been up for challenges and this definitely seemed like one, so why not? Shortly after the start of his in-home Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program, the consultant moved away and the other therapists on his team quit, leaving me as his only therapist. I was forced to quickly learn not only how to teach a child with autism, but also what to teach a child with autism. I worked with Johnny 2 ½ hours a day, six days a week for 3 ½ years. We went through tough times and intense behaviors. I often found myself creating materials from magazines since his family did not have the financial resources to buy the needed teaching materials. We also went through great times, hearing his first words (“shoe” and “ball”) and watching the school bus pick him up for the first day of kindergarten (regular kindergarten, that is!).

Along the way, I learned a great deal about autism, as well as how autism affects the family. I didn’t realize it then, but I found my calling – actually, Johnny found my calling and I haven’t looked back since.

Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger in five words, what would those words be?

Hoehne: Autism support for the whole family.

Patch: What’s the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you’ve faced in your job?

Hoehne: Not growing too quickly. When I started my practice in 1993, the prevalence of autism was 1 in 10,000 and today it is 1 in 59 (CDC, 2018). That is a lot of families needing help. However, it is very important that we don’t overbook our clinicians or just hire anyone. Waiting lists keep me up at night, so being strategic in growing at a pace that is in the client and staff’s best interest has and will continue to be my focus.

Patch: What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

Hoehne: When we celebrate, as a team, one of our client’s graduating out of our program and not needing our services any longer – that they have met all their long term goals! Those are the days we all work so hard for. Another reason why I love getting up in the morning is watching the fun and excitement on our clinician’s faces when they are helping our client’s learn something new.

Patch: How would you say your business or organization distinguishes itself from the others?

Hoehne: We are proud to have earned the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence distinction by excelling in clinical quality, parent satisfaction and quality of staff. How are we different? We believe in personalizing all treatment plans to meeting individual needs, from the number of therapy hours, to the location of therapy, to the types of services received. Additionally, we believe the therapy an individual receives is only as strong as their treatment team; that's why all clinicians at KGH are either licensed or certified. Lastly, we believe that success depends on the entire family feeling supported, therefore, our services embrace the family as a whole.

Patch: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given when it comes to success?

Hoehne: Lead by example and be humble.

Patch: Are there any new projects or endeavors you’re working on that you’re extra excited about?

Hoehne: I am beyond words in my excitement of our new 21,000-square-foot building that I have spent the last three years finding, developing and building out to meet the specific needs of individuals with autism from infancy through young adulthood! For example, we have infant/toddler rooms, preschool classrooms, observation rooms for parents to observe, speech, feeding and occupational therapy rooms and social group rooms for our pediatric side. Our teen and young adult side has an apartment with a teaching shower and teaching kitchen, just to name a few items. There are also many mental health and individual treatment rooms that are designed for the older population. I also wanted to have something nice for the families who are waiting so I created a parent resource and rest area. When walking by, I find many parents sleeping on the comfy chairs and tell me how much they appreciate the room.

Patch: Do you have any events coming up in your community?

Hoehne: We offer a variety of events for the autism community. They include monthly parent support group with free childcare, free seminars, sibling support groups, as well as free screenings and insurance checks. Checking our North Shore clinic calendar on our website is the best way to stay informed of our upcoming events.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your work and business?

Hoehne: Check out our website or follow us on Facebook.

Contact Information:

KGH Autism Services

1161 Lake Cook Road

Deerfield, IL 60015

847.498.5437

info@kghautismservices.com

This Patch article is sponsored by KGH Autism Services.

Image Credit: KGH Autism Services