About
“The parents of these kids fight for everything they have. They fight five times harder than other parents. They fight for insurance coverage, school placement...they shouldn’t have to fight for medical care.”
Henry S. Roane, PhD, BCBA-D
Director, Family Behavior Analysis Program Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital
“They shouldn’t have to fight for medical care.”
But they do. For example, if your pediatrician suspects that your child may have autism, there is a six-month wait for evaluation through Upstate’s Diagnostic Evaluation and Treatment Services. Worse, if your child has autism with severe behavior problems, the wait to be seen in Upstate’s Family Behavior Analysis Program is 100 kids long – or two to three years.
When Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital opened in 2009, it became the essential link for children and families across Central New York who were faced with illness and injury, and specialized health needs. While most patients have been well served, it is recognized that improvements are necessary to enhance the health and life outcomes for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
The new Golisano Center for Special Needs is poised to meet the challenges that children with I/DD and their families face through enhanced clinical care, education, basic research, and initiatives to promote inclusion and community building. It will provide comprehensive, coordinated and scientifically based medical and behavioral care for children and adolescents.