Empowering Progress

Introducing the Children's Autism Center, formerly known as Child's Play Plus. Our experienced professionals provide increased accessibility, resources, and unmatched ABA therapy tailored to your child's needs.

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About Child’s Play

To founders Becki Fulcher and Jason Shaw, Child’s Play Autism Centers is the perfect balance of clinical and operational excellence in an organization. Opened in 2014, Child’s Play represents the area’s premier behavioral and autism centers, delivering exceptional Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services to our community’s children with autism and related disorders, including those displaying high magnitude and self-injurious aggression.

Child’s Play’s founders play an active role in overseeing their locations on a daily basis. It is their responsibility to ensure that the clinics deliver consistent care and support to the numerous clients who attend the facilities. As we fulfill our organization’s mission, “To embrace the life and potential of all individuals through competent and sincere supportive services,” Child’s Play Autism Centers strives to ensure that every individual has the opportunity to live a full and happy life.

Child’s Play also uses the latest systems and tools to ensure a safe, modern, and technologically advanced facility for your child. Our facilities are designed specifically for children with autism on any level of the spectrum – from the proverbial “problem child” to the high-functioning. And the latest technology, including Chartlytics charting technology and telepresence from Double Robotics ensures the most advanced and up-to-the-minute care for your child.

Mission

To embrace the life and potential of all individuals through competent and sincere supportive services. To ensure that children on all levels of the spectrum, no matter how aggressive or disruptive, can receive care that addresses their particular needs and are not excluded from the scope of care available to them.

Vision

Our vision is that every person has the opportunity to live a fulfilling and enriched life.

Types of Therapists and Analysts at Child’s Play

The field of ABA has many levels of certification and education/experience requirements:

  • Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) are educated at a Master’s Level in Applied Behavior Analysis, supervised concentration during training for many hundreds of hours, and must pass a certification exam and maintain continuing education in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. The majority of insurance companies use a BCBA’s credentials as medical professionals for network services and contract directly with providers on this level. At Child’s Play, while each client officially has an assigned BCBA heading their case, our clinicians lead each child’s protocols in concert. Each of our Analysts specialize in separate and overlapping areas of learning. Some specialize in early language acquisition, while others specialize in aggressive behaviors. Still yet are those with experience in socially appropriate sexual behaviors in adolescents.  Whatever your family’s needs, Child’s Play strives to have you covered. As your needs change; well, we’ve got that too.
  • Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts (BCaBA) are required to have a Bachelor’s Degree in an approved field, meeting the required concentration hours of the certification and supervision in their program, and also must pass a certification exam and maintain continuing education in the field of ABA. BCaBAs must work with the oversight of a BCBA, and are generally used to support and increase the number of clients a BCBA can ethically oversee at any given time. It is not uncommon to have BCaBAs providing direct care of necessary cases, especially in cases of increase aggressive or rapidly-shifting problem behavior types.
  • The Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) level is a newer certification in our field, only rolled out in the late 2010s. RBT Certification requires a High School education (although many autism centers utilize staff who are college graduates in non-ABA fields) and RBTs can only work in the field when constantly overseen and supervised by a BCBA. RBTs are trained by their BCBA, fulfilling a certification credential and must pass a certification examination. RBTs cannot operate on limited supervision or on their own. Moving forward, many insurers will likely be requiring all therapist-level positions to be RBT certified, and some already do; Child’s Play is working to remain ahead of that requirement with our ongoing certification and training program at the center-based location level of care. Child’s Play designates dedicated trainers at each of its locations who’s sole purpose is to oversee ongoing staff strengthening of skill sets.
  • How do you know if your child needs Speech therapy?

    Thursday, January 12, 2023

    Our speech therapy team addresses delays and disorders of speech sound production, various areas of language, voice, fluency, infant and pediatric feeding/swallowing.
  • FAQ

    Sunday, January 8, 2023

    Explore our FAQ page for an easy reference regarding ABA, Speech and Occupational Therapy information. If your child is newly diagnosed, you may have some questions. We have those answers. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, please contact us for a consultation! We’re here for you.

  • We’re helping kids of all ages and abilities

    Friday, January 6, 2023

    We’re helping kids of all ages and abilities through ABA Therapy, Speech and Occupational Therapy. At CP+, our families have full support and access to all services, all under one roof. That’s the perk of the ‘plus’! Whether you are seeking care for your child or looking for the next step in your career, we are a great place for people to play, learn and grow!

Success Stories

  • Hope…. hope is the word that best sums up what Child’s Play has given not just (our son) but our whole family. A year ago things were feeling pretty hopeless. It has been so uplifting to see the progress in (his)’s level of independence, self care, independent living skills, and emotional control. Making the decision to send him to Child’s Play is one we will never regret.

    -Caregiver Review, Online
  • When looking for a school or center for a child with autism, the resources are limited when a typical school environment is not functional for your child. We came upon Child’s Play Autism Center and immediately fell in love with the one-on-one interaction for our daughter. Not only does she get one-on-one ABA therapy in her own private therapy room, she also has the opportunity to interact with other students. There are so many areas for her to “play” and learn. There is a music area, pretend play area, gross motor area, sensory area, kitchen area and so much more. She gets the chance to go shopping at the grocery store to work on social behaviors as well as takes trips to the mall. And she goes out to lunch to work on her social and public goals. All of the staff is amazing and is in constant communication as to how my daughter is doing. They are all so supportive! My daughter has excelled greatly since beginning at Child’s Play Autism Center!!! I am so thankful they are here in Ft. Wayne!

    -Caregiver Review, Online
  • As a parent it is hard to watch your child struggle and not make progress in normal child development areas such as verbal, social, emotional and academic skills. As a family we were at a level of deep frustration and didn’t know where to turn to get help. Thankfully, you made a commitment to our community to provide ABA therapy services.

    Child’s Play has provided us with an opportunity to address all of the issues our son has with a program that is comprehensive and customized. Other programs we’ve utilized only address speech when it is the allotted speech time, etc. At Child’s Play Autism Center, they formulate a unique plan for each individual child and work on deficient skills with a precise calculated strategy so your child can attain multiple goals with the completion of one task.

    More than just the therapeutic processes provided, the staff genuinely care for my child and his progress. ABA therapy has been a blessing in our life. We have a long way to go but every week we see some sort of progress in speech or behavior. Child’s Play is making a difference in our entire family’s life for the better and they are a great community asset.

    -Caregiver Review, Online
  • They are a blessing. They have done so much for my son. Couldn’t ask for anything better. You guys rock.

    -Caregiver Review, Online
  • Child’s Play Autism Centers has been coordinating with the Bowen Center on behalf of children and families in Huntington since they began in 2013. The staff are very dedicated to providing individualized treatment, explaining benefits of ABA therapy, and making every child and family who walk through the door feel comfortable. We are pleased to see the tremendous progress in the children who we referred.

    -Shelly Snyder, Director of the Huntington Bowen Center
  • My confidence in their ability to help my patients has yet to wane. Child’s Play is an amazing resource to our community.

    -Dr. Duane Hougendobler, Regional Clinical Medical Director for Parkview Pediatrics
  • They are amazing!! So happy that there is a place for my daughter to go and be challenged to meet her potential!!

    -Caregiver Review, Online
  • Our son has grown leaps and bounds under Rebecca’s supervision. He engages with his peers, has had a huge decrease in meltdowns and works daily on his difficulties on transitions. We are more than pleased with his progress and he loves being there with all his friends!

    -Caregiver Review, Online
  • They are the best! I couldn’t ask for a better place for (my son) to go to…. He went from barely being able to walk with a walk to walking independently in a matter of five months. His therapist’s Rock!!!!!!

    -Caregiver Review, Online
  • I feel incredibly blessed by my child’s support team. I pinch myself everyday when I think about how lucky we are to have found Child’s Play. My child is loved, supported, and encouraged every step of the way, and it shows–he is thriving!

    -Caregiver Review, Online
  • We love this place. We could not be any happier with the results and the huge improvement with our son. They always go more and beyond to help him. I highly recommend this place to anybody who is looking for ABA services.

    -Caregiver Review, Online