One voice in West Virginia dedicated to providing accurate and up-to-date information, empowering parents, supporting best practices, and making lasting changes in our state to enable West Virginians with autism to achieve their highest potential.

MAP was created to provide state-of-the-art information and resources to West Virginians interested in evidence-based assessments and treatments for autism, especially for young children whose families often had difficulty obtaining timely diagnosis and scientifically-supported treatments for their children.

In 2011, we were instrumental in passing autism insurance coverage for West Virginia children utilizing the proven methods of applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA has a rich 60-year history showing early, intensive ABA to be the most effective treatment for children with autism, allowing for meaningful and significant changes in language, play, social, and daily living skills. Multiple, peer-reviewed studies have shown that early, intensive, individualized treatment is the gold standard for autism intervention.

ABA takes a research approach to therapy based on proven theories of learning and behavior. Therapists who use ABA understand how human behaviors are learned and how they can be changed over time. ABA breaks a behavior into smaller steps, teaches those steps to the client, and then rewards them for carrying out those steps successfully.

The science of ABA is also proven effective in treating other conditions, such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, ADHD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Alcohol and Drug Addiction, and other mental health disorders. It can be used with children, as well as adults, in a variety of settings, including the home, school, clinic, and workplace.