LilyPad Learning Center, located in Barrington, NH, is an inclusive environment designed to support children with autism with applied behavior analysis (ABA) as well as other preschool‑aged children from the community. LilyPad families receive support from Logan’s Giving Fund for Autism, which comes in the form of needed co‑pay support for clinical services.
CMF Kids will soon be partnering with Lilypad Change to launch a comprehensive Autism Learning Series designed to support both professionals and families across New Hampshire communities. The series will include live webinars, unique learning opportunities, downloadable resources, podcast‑style conversations, and interactive Q&A sessions to increase accessibility and flexibility for participants.
We took a moment to speak with Allie Tompkins, M.S. Ed., BCBA, co-founder of LilyPad, who shared the impact of Logan’s Giving Fund on parents as well as the importance of creating a learning area that includes children of all abilities.
What are you seeing on the landscape as far as need goes for young children with autism and other disabilities?
I feel like parents are looking for inclusive spaces where their kids can be part of a bigger community and not be isolated. I think that they’re looking for places where their children can get intensive and highly skilled services, but also still have the experience of childhood and get access to play and access to peers.
It’s kind of mixed in there, right?
We’re a licensed child care facility, and we run our ABA practice out of the child care facility. For our ABA clients, we do some center-based sessions and we do home sessions so that we can work with the families directly. At the center, there is a lot more shared space for group activities like eating meals with other people. This approach allows us to work on all the different things that they need in different environments.
What are the benefits for the children who don’t have an autism diagnosis having those experiences with peers who do?
They are so interested in how the other kids are learning and communicating. They like to learn about how different kids communicate. Everyone is part of the classroom. Everyone is friends with each other.
That must be valued by all the families!
The families are so great, and even beyond school, our kids with autism are getting invited to birthday parties. The parents understand that the kids have different needs, and these connections allow their children to go into different settings and try different things.
What have you seen as far as positive impact from Logan’s Giving Fund for Autism?
It’s one stressor taken away—and it’s a big stressor—because these parents are thinking about a million things at once. They are making sure that their kids are getting good, high-quality services now while also thinking about their future. Some of the kids are receiving services five days a week, so the cost comes at them really quickly. Helping parents with his huge financial burden allows them to focus on helping their kids build skills.