New Selma clinic to provide services to children with autism in the Black Belt 

A new clinic coming to Selma will improve the lives of local children with autism spectrum disorder.  

The Physician Assisted Autism Diagnostic Clinic will bring to Selma services that families have had to travel hours to receive, according to Michelle Creekmore, the early childhood program director for The Arc of Madison County.  

The clinic will be offered at the YMCA in Selma four to six days a month and will test kids from ages 2 through 5, she said.  

“Our little ones were either driving to Birmingham or Nashville for autism diagnostic services,” Creekmore said. “On top of that, there is about a two year wait list for those services.”  

At the PAAD clinic, Creekmore said the testing is done in the morning, and the reports are written in the afternoon. The time frame a family learns the diagnosis is cut from years to days, she said. 

“If we can get the kids tested earlier, we can get them services earlier,” Creekmore said. “You know the outcome of that child’s life could be totally different.” 

The Selma clinic is offered by The Arc of Madison County and Auburn University, who are also working together to run a similar clinic in Lee County. The Arc of Madison County has partnered with “some of the best programs in the state” to facilitate the testing throughout the state, according to Creekmore.  

“We have almost got it where no family in our state will have to drive more than 45 minutes for testing,” she said. 

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Creekmore explained that a battery of tests is given to the child in the morning. The results are analyzed, and the report is given to the family’s pediatrician, who then discusses the diagnosis with the family. PAAD is working with about 300 pediatricians across the state, she said. 

Creekmore said using the child’s own pediatrician is unique. The child’s pediatrician will know the child’s history, and the child will be more at ease using a doctor they already know as opposed to a psychiatrist or psychologist who is a stranger to the family. 

The local clinics are a vast improvement for families with children with ASD. Families often had to drive hours for services, and they often had to wait two years for an appointment. If they missed the appointment because they didn’t have transportation, they would go back to the bottom of the list, Creekmore said.  

Creekmore and her boss at The Arc of Madison County, Susan Klingel, got a grant for a PAAD clinic in Huntsville. It went so well that they went statewide with a $2.5 million ARPA grant. The Alabama Legislature included PAAD in the state budget.  

Low-income families do not have to pay for the testing, Creekmore said. The most the family’s insurance will be charged is $500. 

To get more details on the PAAD, go to www.hsvarc.org/autism-clinic. If you need to schedule an appointment for testing in Selma and surrounding areas, and more information, call Crystal Smith at the Auburn University College of Education. That number is (334) 466-7983.