Stride Autism Centers Expands Reach with New Clinic in Cedar Rapids, Boosting Autism Care in Eastern Iowa

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, autism diagnoses are increasing across the country, but obtaining therapy, especially in under-resourced or remote areas, continues to be a major hurdle.

Stride Autism Centers is addressing this problem by launching a new facility in Cedar Rapids. This clinic will provide comprehensive daily care for children across Eastern Iowa, operating from Monday through Friday. Each child’s individual developmental requirements will be catered to at this center.

"Empowering underrepresented communities lies at the heart of our mission," stated Brad Zelinger,Founder and CEO of Stride Autism Centers.

Haley Reents, whose child Christopher has been utilizing Stride's services for about two years since being diagnosed with autism around the age of two-and-a-half, discussed the effects of early intervention.

"We've found ABA therapy to be transformative. Our son barely spoke before starting, but within a year and a half, he began forming complete sentences. I truly believe he wouldn’t be where he is today without Stride’s influence,” Reents stated.

Rennerts added that her son has advanced from not speaking at all to forming complete sentences and even teaching himself Spanish.

"Watching him develop into this child we weren’t certain he would become is simply an incredible wonder," Reents stated.

Stride Autism Centers, driven by a commitment to inclusivity and timely intervention, aims to keep growing so they can broaden access to autism support, fostering more welcoming communities step-by-step.

Brad Zelinger, CEO and having a sibling with autism himself, stated, “My sister has autism, and back then, we had no resources similar to those provided by Stride. As part of our mission, we aim to guarantee that families can get quick access to early intervention programs since they play an incredibly crucial role and significantly impact family life.”

The difficulty goes further than just establishing clinics; attracting qualified professionals to work in these facilities is also a major hurdle. The country faces a significant scarcity of Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), the practitioners responsible for developing and overseeing ABA treatment programs.

The most recent figures indicate that we require approximately 100,000 Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), but presently there are merely 30,000 available. According to the data I reviewed from Iowa, they had around 200 positions filled—clearly insufficient to meet this demand,” stated Zelinger.

With waitlists growing statewide, Stride is focused on reaching more families and training more clinicians to meet the demand.

Zelinger emphasized the desire to capitalize on this momentum and solidify the groundwork needed to provide care across every region of the state requiring such support, with the ultimate aim of becoming an organization without waiting lists.

The clinic began operations in May, and they're gearing up for a grand opening within the coming few months.