NORTH TAZEWELL, VA – November 4, 2022 – Providing a safe and nurturing environment for children with Autism, developmental delays and other special needs is what Adair Behavioral Services, LLC focuses on as its therapists work with families whose children need the specialized care the North Tazewell clinic offers.
Adair Behavioral Services, LLC was a recent recipient of a $10,000 Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) Seed Capital Matching Grant.
“Adair Behavioral Services, LLC is providing specialized services which not only help the families and the children they serve, but which also create jobs at the same time,” said Jonathan Belcher, VCEDA executive director/general counsel. “The new business, which projected eight full-time employees and three part-time employees within five years has already exceeded its total employment goals in part-time employment with nine currently hired and is well on its way to achieving its five-year projection, with five full-time employees now employed.”
Renee Adair noted the North Tazewell clinic, located at 146 Bluemont Lane, provides care for children who have been referred by their primary care physicians. Plans are also in the works to open a second clinic, Mountain View Behavioral & Educational Services, LLC, just across the state line to enable the clinic to serve children with West Virginia insurance.
“As the only ABA therapy clinic in the Tazewell area, we receive an average of two physician referrals a week for services,” Adair said.
ABA references Applied Behavioral Analysis and is based on the science of learning and behavior, Adair said. ABA therapy applies the understanding of how behavior works to real situations.
“Our goal is to increase behaviors that are helpful and decrease behaviors that are harmful or affect learning; to increase language and communication skills; improve attention, focus, social skills, memory and academics and decrease problem behaviors,” Adair said.
Services are available for children from ages birth to 18. Currently, Adair said the clinic has 15 children in its early intervention programs and 20 who come after school for therapy.
Adair is a licensed and certified behavioral analyst, special education teacher and teacher of the blind. She completed her undergraduate degree in special education at James Madison University; earned her Master’s Degree at Radford University; became certified to teach the blind through George Mason University; and earned her certifications as a behavioral analyst from Virginia Commonwealth University.
“I had a vision of what I wanted the clinic to look like and I invested everything I own to get it going,” she said. “The VCEDA grant gave me the ability to take the vision I had in my head and make it a reality.”
Adair noted she used the VCEDA funds primarily to complete and equip a sensory gym. Floor mats and equipment ranging from ball pits and climbs to a padded slide and a fidget wall to allow children the opportunity to safely get sensory input were installed.
All behavioral, educational and social skills services are individualized to meet the needs of each child learner, with services focused on capitalizing on an individual child’s strengths, while working to increase independence in more challenging areas.
Adair worked with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) in developing her application to VCEDA and received a letter of support from the Tazewell County Industrial Development Authority.
“The SBDC congratulates Adair Behavioral Services, LLC in Tazewell on receiving a $10,000 VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Fund Grant,” said Margie Douglass, SBDC program manager at SWCC. “Renee Adair and her staff provide Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy (ABA) to children ages birth to 18 in the underserved area of Southwest Virginia. The Small Business Development Center at Southwest Virginia Community College is proud to have assisted Adair Behavior Services, LLC with developing the VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Fund Grant submission packet and appreciates the contribution this business is making to the health and well-being of the parents and children of Southwest Virginia.”
The business may be reached at 276-979-4500. It may also be found on Facebook and online at www.adairaba.com.
About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.
About the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority Seed Capital Matching Grant Fund: VCEDA region for-profit businesses one year and under with less than 10 full-time employees are eligible to apply for dollar-for-dollar matching grants up to $10,000 from the VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Fund. Applicants work with the Small Business Development Centers at Mountain Empire and Southwest Virginia community colleges to prepare the applications to VCEDA that include detailed business and financial plans. Businesses must be located in or plan to operate in the VCEDA region in southwestern Virginia that includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton.