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Our Past |
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From the Founders Betsy and David Gibbs~
Turning Point was created and founded as a 501(c)3 in 1999 at a time when very little hope was offered to parents in Kentucky for any improvement for their child’s prognosis of Autism. After finding no services or programs locally available, we searched and discovered evidenced based best practices in the field of autism both behaviorally and bio-medically. Since then, we have always espoused to a healing of the autistic’s child’s body on the inside as well as the outside. Blending the two treatments, however, was new to the world of autism in the 1990’s and has only recently been accepted. The name Turning Point was chosen as we felt that these combined interventions had been exactly that for our daughter’s life.
The “outside healing” came through a widely researched and evidenced based practice by the name of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA had been dramatically successful for our daughter (within a short three weeks of her ABA treatment program, she spoke her first words). 1:1 in-home and in-school ABA therapy treatment programs for children in Louisville, Central Kentucky, and Southern Indiana began in October of this first year. Initially, Turning Point’s ABA Treatment Program design partner was the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD),founded in 1990 by Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh, PhD, BCBA who studied under Dr. Ivar Lovaas, known as the “father of ABA”. In 2005, Turning Point began contracting with Amanda Ralston, BCABA and her company Verbal Behavior Consulting for Treatment Program design and on-going training as a local option for parents.
The “inside healing” followed the bio-medical treatment of autism through the leadership of the late Dr. Bernard Rimland and the Defeat Autism Now! researchers and medical professionals. Just as ABA had led our daughter to speak her first words in years, the DAN! Approach profoundly affected Elizabeth’s progress and her development leaped forward. Turning Point became a resource to pediatricians and to parents who were interested in finding answers to questions on cutting edge bio-medical research, diet and nutrition planning. Over the years, we sponsored trips to DAN! Conferences for Pediatricians, Compounding Pharmacists and health food store owners. In the late 1990’s Turning Point connected Dr. Boyd Haley with a team of researchers at the Autism Research Institute and the now familiar mercury/vaccine connection began.
What We’re Doing Today >
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 Make a Donation
You may make a donation to Turning Point by stopping by any Fifth Third Bank location. Please request Turning Point's "Alexander Garcin O'Brien" Scholarship Fund.
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