Mission & History

Mission

”To provide treatment and remediation to young children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders; to provide training to those who would offer such treatment; to provide trained personnel for the families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders; and to offer these services to low-income or economically disadvantaged families.”

BIA is a recognized leader within the community for intervention and support for young children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders NOS, Autism and Asperger’sSyndrome and their families. It has served hundreds of children in the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley and overseas.

BIA is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is certified as a non-public agency by the California Department of Education, collaborating with local educational agencies, and a vendor with the regional center system.

Hilary Baldi, MA and Deanne Detmers, MA, the founders of BIA, hold degrees in psychology and childhood
special education with concentrations in early childhood and learning disabilities. They have created and supervised individualized programs for over 20 years. •

History

In the late 80’s, Hilary Baldi took a psychology course at UCLA, taught by Dr. Ivar Lovaas, that would spark a lifetime career for her. The course involved learning ABA principles and teaching young children with autism using Dr. Lovaas’s approach. Following graduation from UCLA, Ms. Baldi moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and began her graduate work in early childhood special education while providing services to a few students on the autism spectrum. At that time, statistics indicated that autism occurred in 1/10,000 children. Around the same time (1990), Deanne Detmers was volunteering at the UCSF PDD Clinic under the direction of Dr. Bryna Siegel. Interested in the treatment side of autism, Ms. Detmers took a job as a tutor for a young child in San Mateo. The program was being supervised by staff from UCLA as well as Hilary Baldi. Ms. Detmers also completed a graduate degree in special education.

In the next few years, it became obvious that there was a tremendous need for services. Ms. Baldi and Ms. Detmers increased their caseloads and began collaborating with other individual’s interested in teaching young children on the autism spectrum. In 1993 with the encouragement of several families and a generous donation from one particular family, BIA was founded as a non-profit corporation and became the 2nd service provider in the Bay Area providing intensive, behavioral, programs to young children with autism.

At the time, all families were paying for services out of pocket which in some cases created great financial hardship. In starting BIA, the hope was that other funding sources could be secured, which would lessen the financial strain on families as well as allow families of all income levels to access services. BIA’s first office was located in San Ramon, California. Fred Baldi became BIA’s Business Manager and created much of the infrastructure of BIA that exists today. He forged relationships with school districts and regional centers, secured BIA’s non-public agency (NPA) status which allows districts to contract with BIA for services, and assembled a talented workforce under one roof.

Since 1993, BIA has seen many changes in the study and treatment of autism. Most notably is the incidence statistic of 1 in 150. Additionally, BIA has seen a multitude of treatments come and go, an increase in the number of service providers, and a growing sophistication by school districts in addressing the needs of this population. The commitment of BIA remains the same as it did in 1993; to help each child reach his/her fullest potential, one family at a time. •