There has been a recent uptick in businesses opening their doors in Issaquah focusing on wellness. These niche operations range from helping autistic children grow, to healthy beverages, to a doctor specializing in skeletal and muscular injury rehab.

Despite the economy, businesses focusing on a specific specialization are bucking the trend and succeeding in tough times.

The Lakeside Center for Autism, which opened it’s doors four months ago, has gotten results providing families with something no one else in the Eastside does – an all-encompassing place for children with autism and their families.

Every day in the United States 67 children are diagnosed with autism. Approximately one in 150 kids are diagnosed with the disease, a developmental disability which typically appears in the first three years of life. It can be difficult to diagnose and helping the child blossom through their childhood is often a frustrating and nerve-racking process for parents and families.

The Center offers a pre-school, which is expanding this fall, and individual therapy sessions for children from birth through 18-years-old, all tailored to help autistic children.

“It’s a unique place, I don’t think there are any places like it on the Eastside,” said Daniel Stachelski, the executive program director of the Center. He said the Center provides individualized and appropriate goals for the children while providing support for the families.

“We’ve seen such an incredible change in some of the kids in just a few months,” said Amy Stachelski, director of marketing. “There has been a great outpour of support from the community and families. There’s a sigh of relief from parents when they call.”

Amy said there are an abundance of resources for children with autism until the age of three, and for families to find a place that can help a child all the way to adulthood is a big relief.

One of the things that sets Lakeside apart, Daniel said, is that the therapists use several intervention methods specifically tailored to each child, rather than one method. Due to this approach all staff, who each have experience working with children and autism, are trained in house.

“There is a lot of great synergy,” said Daniel Stachelski of the staff. “The opportunity to collaborate has been absolutely amazing.”

The current pre-school has space for 10 kids, and with the addition of the second pre-school class in the fall, Daniel said that number can jump to 24.

The center works hard to incorporate families into the intervention process, working with parents on every aspect of the therapy. The classrooms have one-way mirror windows which allow parents to watch the classes progress from the outside without distracting the children. In the pre-school the student to therapist ratio is almost one to one, Daniel said.

“It’s really unheard of for a school to be able to provide that,” he said. While the pre-school is designed for children with autism, the activities and curriculum matches a typical pre-school, just one that is adapted to meet the children’s specific needs.

“They have the opportunity to explore in their own way,” Daniel said.

The exploration begins for the youngest children in the sensory motion room, or from the kids perspective, a room of cool toys. Here therapists work with the children on movement therapy, helping them learn how to plan their movements.

Custom Lycra swings give the children a sense of space, and teaches them about movement and where their limbs are in relation to the rest of them. This helps by taking the thought process out of the equation, making movement more natural.

“It’s an appropriate place to do the things they’ve been seeking out,” said Daniel. “There is nothing like this anywhere.”

The Center also provides a resource area for children and families, helping them find techniques to help. This, along with more parent offerings, is how Daniel sees the Center growing in the future to truly become a place where children with autism and their families can get all the support and help they need to grow.

The Lakeside Center for Autism is located at 1871 NW Gilman Blvd. Suite 2 in Issaquah. Contact the Center at 425-657-0620 or visit www.lakesideautism.com.