Supporting and guiding the person with autism

Main Office: 331 Gambrills Rd. Suite 4A Gambrills, MD 21054
PHONE: 410-923-1100 FAX: 410-923-1101
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Testimonial

    “What would I do without my tech? She has been a tremendous asset to my son and myself for four years now. She goes above and beyond the call of duty in her ability to be creative. Never has she hesitated to create, suggest, or apply her knowledge and ability to the best interest of my child and myself.”

    “My husband and I could not be more pleased with the support we receive from our Family Consultant. I have learned a lot from my Family Consultant and have even brought her ideas to my son’s school program. She is very constructive and creative and flexible. My son has grown tremendously under her instruction.”

    “I really appreciate the structure of your program. I have seen it evolve over the years and it holds everyone accountable for their jobs. The supports you’ve offered my family over the years has made raising my daughter much easier.”

Our Philosophy and Mission

    The Whole Self Center’s philosophy suggests that every human being is more than a body with a brain. When caring for a child – a whole person - we are experiencing the creative spirit present in that child & in ourselves.

    • As we remain interested in exploring creative possibilities for the individual in the moment, we are more open to experiencing something new, such as developing a valuable skill we never knew or thought was possible.
    • In this way, we are less likely to stay stuck in repeating our old, inhibiting habits & behaviors.
    • By living this understanding with individuals with autism, we continue to become better able to respect & support children for who they already are, deserving of love & attention simply for being.


Services that directly impact family members: Family Consulting (FC), Intensive Individual Support Services (IISS), Therapeutic Integration (TI), Respite Care, and Adult Life Planning (ALP)

Family Consulting (FC) Supports the Family by:

  • Helping families explore the resources available in their community and how to effectively incorporate it into their child’s individualized program
  • Supporting families to define the short and long term goals that will serve the child at home, in the community and for future living and vocational opportunities.
  • Helping families develop a personalized communication system for their child that promotes independent thinking and expression of wants, needs and original thoughts
  • Assisting families with developing behavior strategies that promotes self monitoring and self regulation and helps their child to deal with the stresses at home and community.
Family Consultants bring with them years of experience working with individuals with autism incorporating different programs, techniques, teaching tools that facilitate teaching communication, social skills, self help skills and self confidence.

Family Consulting consists of a professional who meets with members of the individual’s family in 1 hour increments. Families can receive 1 to 6 hours of Family Consulting in one day, and families are allotted a total of 40 Family Consulting hours per calendar year.

Intensive Individual Support Services (IISS) Supports the Family and Child by:
  • Providing the child opportunities to practice and maintain skills mastered and to learn new skills that address short and long term needs.
  • Allowing the child to interact, socialize and learn from different persons outside the immediate family.
  • Providing opportunity for systematic and intense teaching involving self help skills, communication, socialization and safety in the home and community.
Intensive Individual Support Services consist of a trained paraprofessional interacting with and engaging an individual according to child’s goal-directed Treatment Plan. The IISS technician can spend time with the child in the child’s home and/or community. The IISS technician can meet with the child in 30 minute increments, totaling up to 8 hours in one day. Individuals on the Autism Waiver are allotted a maximum of 25 hours per week of IISS.

Respite Care Supports the Family and Child by:
  • giving parents and family members a chance to have time to attend to their own needs
  • giving the family the opportunity to witness someone else successfully care for their child
  • providing the child with a safe, motivating, and stress free environment


Respite Care consists of a trained paraprofessional essentially providing skilled child care to an individual. Whereas IISS focuses on supporting an individual to practice skills according to a treatment Plan, Respite Care allows the individual to go about his/her daily life routine in the presence of a qualified Respite Worker in a care-giving role. Respite can occur at the individual’s home or a community in the state of Maryland. Overnight respite is also available.

Therapeutic Integration Supports the Family and Child by:

  • giving a child the opportunity to practice social skills in a controlled setting with peers with the intention that the individual will use the skills with his family members and others
  • supporting the individual to understand his/her strengths – rather than focus on limitations – so the individual can develop positive ways of interacting with his/her family
  • encouraging the individual to practice effective ways to manage disappointment, frustration, and anger so that the individual might engage in positive self regulation behaviors with his/her family members.
Therapeutic Integration consists of one trained paraprofessional caring for and guiding three individuals to engage in activities with other individuals who are in the Therapeutic Integration Program program. Our TI program is held at The Whole Self Friendship Center in Gambrills, Maryland. Individuals can receive two to four hours of TI services per day (with a minimum of 2 Hours). Transportation to and from the TI center may be possible.

Adult Life Planning Supports the Family and Transitioning Youth by:


Helping the transitioning youth and family identify his/her ideal life and facilitate mapping out an individualized plan to achieve outcomes and goals
  • Supporting the transitioning from the Autism Waiver Services to the adult system by identifying what services are available and exploring how to access the most appropriate support
  • Working with the youth and his/her family in the home environment to identify the skills, behaviors and attitudes needed to assure significant success in developing independence, community integration, self-advocacy, natural supports and job skills.
  • Supporting the youth to access employment opportunities that will prepare him/her for employment as an adult.

Adult Life Planner consists of a professional with years of experience working with individuals with autism and adult services. The Whole Self Center provides a life planning tool which helps to identify the youth’s and the family’s ideal life and facilitates mapping-out the plan to achieve their outcomes and goals. The ALP meets with the transitioning individual and his/her family in 1 hour increments for a total of 15 ALP hours per calendar year for a maximum of 45 hours of services until the individual is 21 years old.