We know there are many autism centers out there for you to choose from. Here’s what makes us different:
We use an interdisciplinary approach to caring for your child. Our team works together seamlessly to create a comprehensive, whole-family approach that drives success for our clients. By coordinating all therapies and elements behind the scenes, we ensure that each intervention is evidence-based and effective, delivered in a way that is both fun and engaging for your child.
Our programs are developed to support you, your child with autism, and their siblings.
No need to drive all around town, we make it easy for you to get all the comprehensive services and support under one roof.
Many centers have children age out when they reach school age. At KGH, we are here to support you and your child for as long as you need us. We specialize in early childhood and support through young adulthood.
All your therapists across the multiple disciplines meet and collaborate on your child’s development and progress regularly. This interdisciplinary treatment model provides your child with the most effective and consistent therapy available.
We partner with you to develop a personalized treatment program and focus on clear, measurable, and meaningful results. There is no pre-set number of hours you must commit to; all of that is determined by talking with you about your goals for your child and assessments we perform. Also, as your child grows, your and their needs will change. Don’t worry, your Individualized Treatment Program will change to reflect that too.
Our esteemed accreditation from The Autism Commission on Quality testifies that we meet rigorous standards on client care, administration, and transparency. This accreditation reflects our true commitment to delivering the highest standard of care provided by the most skilled, dedicated, and compassionate clinicians who love what they do!
Many clinics are owned by private equity companies these days, but not KGH. KGH was founded and is run by Kim Hoehne, a developmental specialist and Licensed and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Kim has been working with children with autism and their families for over 30 years. Being owned and operated by a clinician allows us to keep the focus on clinical quality and to make decisions that are in the best interest of the clients and staff.
KGH Autism Services was born out of the passion and dedication of our founder, Kim Hoehne. With over 30 years of experience as a Child Development Specialist and Licensed Behavior Analyst, Kim has devoted her life to guiding families through their autism journey. Her commitment to helping children with autism thrive has been the driving force behind KGH for more than two decades.
Kim’s vision for KGH was to create a place where families could find comprehensive, compassionate support at every stage of their child’s development. She understands that receiving an autism diagnosis can be both profound and overwhelming—a moment filled with questions and uncertainties. With her deep expertise and empathy, Kim has shaped KGH into a trusted resource for parents, medical professionals, and the entire community.
At the heart of KGH is Kim’s belief in a collaborative approach. She works closely with our team to ensure that every child receives personalized care tailored to their unique needs. Kim’s influence can be seen in every aspect of KGH, from the innovative therapies we provide to the supportive environment we foster.
Kim’s unwavering commitment to families has made KGH a beacon of hope and support. Under her leadership, KGH continues to empower children with autism to reach their full potential, ensuring that every family has the resources, guidance, and care they need to thrive.
“Matthew” 1.5 years old (20 months)
When Matthew joined our program, his mother had the following concerns: “Doesn’t respond to name, repetitive behavior (spins in circles), doesn’t play with toys, hasn’t spoken words, very short attention span, ignores all other children.”
She reported that the family didn’t feel comfortable going anywhere. Matthew wouldn’t listen and they were afraid he would run off.
He didn’t seem interested in anything except spinning in circles. The family was stressed and didn’t know what to do.
In May 2016, Matthew began an individualized, comprehensive, developmentally appropriate ABA therapy program for 35 hours per week.
Within months, Matthew:
To continue his great progress and help prepare him for a more social environment, Matthew graduated to a half-day of one-to-one ABA therapy and a half-day in our therapeutic preschool.
He received speech therapy and social groups in addition to his ABA therapy starting in April 2017. In December 2018, he graduated from KGH and transitioned to a typical preschool—without any support needed.
Matthew started regular education kindergarten in Fall of 2019, promising to send us school pictures.
Matthew’s parents are thrilled with his progress. They are so happy he will be attending typical preschool and kindergarten. They enjoy going to the park together and having cousins over to play.
Matthew’s program at KGH has been life-changing for him—and his family.
“Ben” 2.5 years old (29 months)
Ben came into our program with two words: “Elmo” and “no.”
He did not engage with other children. He preferred to be by himself, repetitively playing with wood trains, lining them up over and over.
He also spent his time hiding under the couch or between the couch cushions. Ben walked on his toes, did not imitate any words or actions, and did not engage with his parents in any reciprocal games.
Ben’s parents reported that they felt very frustrated. Wherever they went, he would find doors or sliding glass doors and open and close them, over and over. He would have a meltdown if they moved him away from the doors.
They hated walking out of any store because Ben would scream and strangers would stare. Eventually, one parent would stay home while the other parent ran errands—which strained their marriage.
Ben began an individualized, comprehensive, developmentally appropriate ABA therapy program for 30 hours a week. He also received speech therapy for 3 hours each week to help with oral motor issues. In addition, he received occupational therapy for 2 hours per week to address toe-walking and sensory processing issues.
Within weeks, Ben began to learn how to imitate, which is the foundation of natural learning. This allowed him to learn and use new, meaningful words. He increased his ability to play with toys in a fun and functional way.
To help generalize his new skills, Ben’s therapy expanded from the center to include his home and community—especially places with lots of doors. He successfully completed our therapeutic preschool, which helped him to prepare him for typical kindergarten.
During that transition, he spent mornings at regular kindergarten and afternoons with us, receiving ABA therapy and social group practice. After he started regular first grade, the teacher reported that he was doing so well that Ben graduated to periodic consultations.
He now attends regular seventh grade. When asked “What is your favorite thing to do?” He answered, “Hang out with my friends.”
Ben’s parents are beyond grateful for all the progress their son has made. On Saturdays, they love going to Starbucks and running errands—as a family.
After his graduation, Ben’s mother sent this email:
Dear Kim,
I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for [Ben].
I remember when we first met you at the free screening meeting, you were so knowledgeable and so calm with our son, my husband and I.
You and your team have been so amazing to us and I will always be thankful to you all. I know if anything comes up, you guys are just a call away. [Ben] will miss [his therapy team.] He had a lot of fun at the KGH graduation yesterday!
-unsolicited email from Ben’s mom
“Isaac” 7 years old
Isaac came to KGH in the middle of second grade. Referred by his school social worker and given an educational diagnosis of autism, Isaac displayed challenging behaviors when he didn’t want to do something. In addition, he did not follow classroom routines.
At home, Isaac was inflexible and rigid in his play and thinking. He would often fight with his younger brother. He ate only certain types of food from the same green plate.
Isaac’s parents were worn out. Their score on the Parent Stress Index scale was extremely high. They often disagreed on how to parent their son.
Isaac received 20 hours per week of ABA therapy, along with twice-weekly speech therapy to address social pragmatic language and feeding therapy. Isaac also received weekly occupational therapy for sensory processing and gross and fine motor skills.
We taught Isaac flexibility in his play and thinking—which helped tremendously. After two months of therapy, we added sibling sessions to his treatment. This helped Isaac and his brother learn how to better interact, and generalized Isaac’s new flexibility skills.
Isaac’s KGH Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) conducted monthly school observations and provided updates and recommendations to help Isaac carry new skills from home to school. She also worked closely with speech therapy to ensure consistency in programming for eating more of a variety of foods.
The BCBA supported Isaac’s parents too, providing parent training in their home each week. This helped to support, educate and empower their parenting skills and confidence.
They also received family psychotherapy to address concerns having a child with autism places on a marriage.
Isaac remains in regular education with support services—such as speech therapy and social work—at school. He comes to KGH three times a week for our After-School Enrichment program. He also attends Superflex 101, KGH Super Sports and We Thinkers!
His parents’ stress index scale score now falls within the high end of the average stress range. Today, Isaac and his brother have only typical sibling fights. 🙂
“Michael” 11 years old
Michael received a diagnosis of autism when he was seven years old, with a verbal comprehension score in the 96th percentile. His vocabulary was excellent, yet he was unable to engage in back-and-forth conversation with peers.
Michael started at KGH a few months into middle school. He had difficulty getting into the routine of sixth grade. For more than half of his day, Michael attended special education life skills classes. He attended specials in regular education.
His parents reported that Michael wasn’t making any friends. He expressed that he wanted to have friends, but didn’t understand why no one liked him. Additionally, his parents were becoming concerned about two things. The first, the calls from school indicating his “inappropriate” talking was becoming an issue. Also, they were very concerned about his lack of understanding of his body and puberty.
Treatment started with a KGH Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) going to the school to directly observe Michael’s day and talk with his IEP team. A KGH Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) met with Michael’s mom and dad each week to provide mental health support—and to help prepare them for parenting a child with autism through puberty.
Michael initially received 12 hours per week of focused ABA therapy. This addressed age-appropriate use and understanding of social cognition and social pragmatic skills. This therapy helped Michael to improve his executive functioning skills and to increase his self-awareness about puberty.
Each week, Michael received occupational therapy to address sensory issues identified with body awareness and speech therapy to address social pragmatic language skills.
After three months of therapy, Michael was ready to join our social groups, Think Social and After School Hangout, for middle school kids. By the end of sixth grade, Michael was doing much better in school, starting to develop friends and sitting with others during lunchtime.
At the start of seventh grade, his IEP team decided to increase his time in regular education gradually to more than half the day. By the end of seventh grade, Michael was in regular education with resources and a case manager.
Currently, Michael receives ABA therapy for six hours each week, addressing skills for our Middle School Program, and one hour of LCSW time each week to support his mental health.
“Thomas” 17 years, 6 months
Thomas’ family reached out to KGH because he was having difficulties staying on task, showed poor stamina on school-provided job sites and had a variety of behavioral problems. Thomas would refuse to go to school on some days and had shown self-injurious behavior while at school.
He would often elope from school. School staff would be forced to follow him on foot and call the police.
Thomas’ parents were also concerned about his lack of independent daily living skills—including hygiene. They needed help making plans for their son’s life after high school.
Thomas was interested in learning how to talk to girls. When asked what he enjoyed spending his time doing, he responded, “I don’t know.”
We started treatment with a KGH Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) going to school to directly observe his day, as well as talk to his teachers and IEP team. The BCBA worked with the school to establish a strong behavior plan to better support the challenging behaviors, including leaving school during the school day.
The BCBA also conducted a preference assessment and vocational interest assessment. This helped determine what skills were needed to help Thomas develop a hobby and possible job interests.
Thomas and his parents worked with the BCBA in their home to set up a chore and hygiene chart. He kept track on his phone. Setting something up for Thomas to use his phone—a preferred item—while doing things he didn’t like was a great way motivate him to complete what he needed to do. The BCBA also taught Thomas texting etiquette.
Thomas also began seeing a KGH Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) to help him better develop more positive relationships with both male and female peers. They also worked on helping him to develop a positive self-image.
Within a few months, Thomas began attending our weekly Social Night for Young Adults. There, he was able to practice the skills he learned from the BCBA and LCSW.
The LCSW provided consultation to Thomas’ parents about recommended transition programs that would be a great fit for him.
Today, Thomas enjoys his preferred hobby of going to Starbucks with his Marvel comics. After high school, he moved smoothly to a transition program for 30 hours a week. He is independent in daily living skills at home and engages in appropriate texting with friends.
3113 W Beltline Hwy Suite 300
Madison, WI 53713
*All testimonials on the KGH website were unsolicited, are not from current clients, and comply with all applicable laws about claims made in the testimonial.