About Children's Services (click here to view video)

To meet the needs of children and young adults with autism, developmental disabilities and/or behavioral challenges, HMEA Children's Services makes available a broad array of services from early intervention with toddlers to assisting young adults transitioning into the workforce and community life. We have a history and reputation for delivering high quality, comprehensive, timely and cost-effective services. With very experienced, well-trained staff we have the capacity to effectively deliver services throughout our service area, which includes Central and Southeastern Massachusetts, as well as the Greater Boston metropolitan area. In delivering these services our staff creates partnerships with families and school systems that serve to help each child achieve his or her fullest potential.

If you have any questions or want more information about Children's Services please don't hesitate to contact Michele Mayer, Vice President of Children's and Transitional Services at 508.298-1170 or email her at mmayer@hmea.org.

Home-based Programs

To assist children of all ages and their families, we offer home-based services for both children under 3 years (Early Intervention) and over 3 years (School-aged).

The Early Intervention program at HMEA works with children who have been newly diagnosed with Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, or other Autism Spectrum Disorder. Working in partnership with families, HMEA provides intensive educational services to these very young children in both home and community settings. The goal of HMEA's Early Intervention services is to help families understand the unique learning needs of their children and to bring about improved skill development and independence into the child. These services are paid for through funding provided by the Department of Public Health (DPH). HMEA is a DPH certified Specialty Provider for children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The School-aged Program at HMEA provides education, instruction and consultation to children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, a developmental disability, or other behavioral challenge. Through our programs with the state's Departments of Education (DOE) and Mental Retardation (DMR), we also provide services to children of families who are contemplating placing their child in a residential school, but who truly desire to have their child continue to live at home. Working in partnership with families and schools, the goal of school-aged home-based services is to help each child achieve his/her fullest potential at home or in the community . These services are available to children aged 3 years or older, and are either paid for through funding provided by the local school district or through private payments.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) serves as the foundation of services within both the Early Intervention and School-aged programs - incorporating assessment, identification of objectives, systematic instruction, and data-analysis. These techniques are used to teach language, cognitive, social, play, self-care and/or motor skills. Experience and research has shown that ABA strategies are effective in promoting the development of new skills.

Services provided include:

  • Assessment - developmental, educational and functional behavioral evaluations that assess a child's capabilities across settings and which provide specific recommendations for treatment planning
  • Clinical Design - individualized development of objectives and teaching strategies utilizing a variety of proven instructional procedures including, but not limited to, discrete-trial and incidental teaching methodologies
  • Education - in-home instruction in cognitive, social, play, self-care, and communication skills within a structured behavioral teaching format
  • Clinical Consultation - available for families, schools and child-care providers to address a variety of needs

HMEA Administrative Office • 8 Forge Park East • Franklin, MA 02038
telephone: 508.298.1100 fax: 508.298.1400 email: hmea@hmea.org