InTouch with Southern Kentucky April 2020 | Page 28

Health
Somerset behavior analyst describes how autism
affects our community’s children and adults
SUBMITTED
Chris George is a licensed behavior analyst in Somerset who works with area children and adults having
autism.
BY TIM MINTON
What is it like living with autistic
spectrum disorders (autism)? Often,
it impacts your communication,
self-regulation, and social skills.
Government research estimates
one in 59 individuals have autism
throughout the nation.
Typically appearing in early child-
hood, autism is a lifelong develop-
28 • I n T ouch with S outhern K entucky 
mental disability. Many types exist
with a range of conditions char-
acterized by challenges of social
interaction, verbal and nonverbal
speech, repetitive behaviors, sensi-
tivity to stimuli, along with having
unique perceptions.
“Individuals with autism just com-
municate with others and interpret
their surroundings differently,” says
Chris George. “No two individuals
with autism are the same because it
impacts each one different.”
George is a behavior analyst and
over a 20-year veteran in the mental
and behavioral healthcare industry.
Since 2007, he remains the owner
and executive director of Somer-
set’s Applied Behavioral Advance-
ments (ABA),105 College St.
April is National Autism Aware-
ness Month. It attempts to bring
both awareness and acceptance
of autistic individuals about the
M arch 2020