Meet Laurie Sperry of Autism Services And Programs in Wheat Ridge

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurie Sperry.

Laurie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My high school required students to accumulate volunteer hours in their prospective majors. At the time, I thought I was going to go into medicine so I was volunteering at a local hospital and found that it wasn’t for me. I’m an avid swimmer so when an opportunity came up to volunteer with a swim class for children with special needs I jumped at the chance. I was 15 when I first met a child with Autism through that swim class. I changed my focus and ended up majoring in special education. I taught for about a decade before becoming a state level Autism Consultant, supporting teachers in rural and remote South Carolina. I went back to school and obtained my doctorate at UNC- Chapel Hill and worked with Division TEACCH. After graduate school I went into administration but found I missed working directly with children and their families. In 2006 I was awarded a Fulbright Senior Specialist position and moved to Australia in 2010 to help establish services for children on the autism spectrum in rural and remote parts of Australia. Over my nearly 40-year career I’ve worked as a teacher, consultant, professor, administrator, and researcher. Having maintained a private practice, Autism Services and Programs, for the past 20 years has helped me stay connected to people on the spectrum and their families.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, definitely not a smooth road but I’m an optimist by nature so I try to re frame obstacles and ask myself- what could I have done better? What could I do better the next time?

As a military family member, myself, I’ve worked in military communities and seen the struggles families go through when services are disrupted by deployments. I’ve felt frustrated by the difficulties many families experience trying to get adequate insurance coverage. There are times that agencies meant to support families and their children unwittingly put barriers in place that make navigating the system look like a wiring schematic for a computer. It shouldn’t be that difficult! There are a lot of wonderful people in Colorado and across the nation working tirelessly to help families address the waiting lists for services and create and provide post-secondary options for students once they leave the school system.

Your vote on these issues matters, your voice matters, support businesses that provide employment for people with disabilities. As John Lewis reminds us, when you need to stand up and speak out, stir up good trouble.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Autism Services and Programs story. Tell us more about the business.
Autism Services And Programs is a team of current and former educators specializing in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). I’m most proud of the dedication and experience of the team. This group of women and men consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty. They work long hours, sometimes dealing with intense challenging behaviors, yet they maintain a high level of positivity and professionalism. They truly care about the children and young adults they work with and are compassionate supports for families. I have an extraordinary team of colleagues.

What sets us apart? We offer a number of inclusive social groups meaning we have same aged peers without autism who also attend. We have groups for young children, teen girls, siblings and teens and young adults. These groups provide opportunities to practice social skills in a real-world context. Some of our groups have been intact for years and the members of the group have formed friendships and hang out together outside the group. We often have to shoo everyone out at the end of group because they don’t want to leave- I take that as a good sign that we’ve created a fun and natural environment that doesn’t feel clinical

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
The universe has definitely smiled on me personally; I met my husband late in life and we had a wonderful son together (even later in life). I’ve had terrific mentors, like Dr. Gary Mesibov at TEACCH and great colleagues during my time in academia.

For the business, assembling this great team has been a combination of luck and history. 15 years ago, I shared an office with one of the lead therapists because the university we were at ran out of office space so they stuck her in with me and we became friends and she later came to work with me. Many of the therapists were my former graduate students who contacted me to stay in touch and remembering what great students they were I offered them a spot on the team. And some of the therapists were people I’ve gotten to know through their work and dedication to other organizations and when they’ve moved on or wanted to add to their experiences, I’ve been fortunate enough to have them join the team!

One of the luckiest experiences I’ve had is finding our current location. It’s a beautiful old farm house that was built in 1910 and lovingly restored by our amazing landlord. I would drive by it daily and think about what an ideal location it would be for our business. It finally became available and we moved into it in May of 2020. We spend so much time here it was important that it felt like a home and the children, teens and young adults love the quirky rooms, antique features and there’s even a secret stair case!

Contact Info:

• Address: Autism Services And Programs
  4940 Ward Road
  Wheat Ridge CO 80033
• Website: www.asapsperry.com
• Phone: 303 953 8293
• Email: drsperry@asapsperry.com

Image Credit:
Russ Kutzman Office Manager

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