Supporting and guiding the person with autism

Main Office: 331 Gambrills Rd. Suite 4A Gambrills, MD 21054
PHONE: 410-923-1100 FAX: 410-923-1101
Photos

Testimonial

    “What would I do without my tech? She has been a tremendous asset to my son and myself for four years now. She goes above and beyond the call of duty in her ability to be creative. Never has she hesitated to create, suggest, or apply her knowledge and ability to the best interest of my child and myself.”

    “My husband and I could not be more pleased with the support we receive from our Family Consultant. I have learned a lot from my Family Consultant and have even brought her ideas to my son’s school program. She is very constructive and creative and flexible. My son has grown tremendously under her instruction.”

    “I really appreciate the structure of your program. I have seen it evolve over the years and it holds everyone accountable for their jobs. The supports you’ve offered my family over the years has made raising my daughter much easier.”

Our Philosophy and Mission

    The Whole Self Center’s philosophy suggests that every human being is more than a body with a brain. When caring for a child – a whole person - we are experiencing the creative spirit present in that child & in ourselves.

    • As we remain interested in exploring creative possibilities for the individual in the moment, we are more open to experiencing something new, such as developing a valuable skill we never knew or thought was possible.
    • In this way, we are less likely to stay stuck in repeating our old, inhibiting habits & behaviors.
    • By living this understanding with individuals with autism, we continue to become better able to respect & support children for who they already are, deserving of love & attention simply for being.


About Us

People with autism have something to teach us.. that we’re more alike than we are different. A young man with autism explained to me that he feels he ‘loses it’ when he has a meltdown and that it’s hard for him to get calm and get back on track. We all need support to regain a sense of self control when we “lose it”. A person with an autistic brain often needs much more support from us to find his/her way back. That person needs us to fill in the gaps of misunderstanding his/her autistic brain isn’t able to fill in the moment. Autism is calling us to ask ourselves: Are we expressing compassion as we realize when we and others are stuck in autistic thinking… thinking that leaves us feeling lost and uncertain and unable to see the whole picture? And more importantly, are we willing to be artistic, creative, and nonjudgmental in supporting ourselves and them to find their way back?” Stephen C. Hartman, LCSW-C

  • The Whole Self Center (WSC) supports people to explore the creative aspects of their true selves in order to bring about effective problem solving and flexibility.
  • Our direct homecare and community-based services in Maryland focus on the population of children and adolescents with autism, individuals who seem to most people to be so entrenched in their "disability" that they can't possibly understand new ways of thinking or behaving.
  • We happen to feel differently; we nurture the strengths and interests of the children and adolescents we serve with the intention of supporting them to live as independently as possible, to what ever degree they are willing and able.
The Whole Self Center is a Maryland Medical Assistance Autism Waiver Provider. As a provider, we offer the following Autism Waiver services: Family Consulting, Intensive Individual Support Services, Therapeutic Integration, and Respite Care.

  • First, we serve people – people who happen to have autism.
  • We identify and build on their abilities and interests – not in spite of their having autism, but within the context of how their autism manifests and affects the way they process information.
  • We believe that combining structured activities with experiences that occur in the natural environment can greatly influence a person’s ability to develop functional skills because doing so will support the person to learn how to learn.
  • We start by seeing the individual as competent in their own right – rather than limited by a laundry list of deficits.
  • We simply begin by affirming who the person already is.


We launched The Whole Self Center web site, wholeselfcenter.com, on April 10, 2006. We intend to add information to this site for our employees and families as well as for the general public.

Currently you will find the following on our site:

  • A presentation of WSC philosophy, staff, policies and programs
  • A description of the services we provide
  • A Recruitment Tool in the form of a Job Opportunities Profile to offer potential placement to qualified professionals and paraprofessionals to families.
  • A Request for Services Form for new families
  • A secure online environment The Whole Self Monitoring System where parents and employees receive ID’s and passwords to a specific child’s account used to allow the family and the service team to monitor a child’s on-going development.
  • A systematic documentation process allowing team members to enter their session notes online which all team members, parents and the main office can access to assure quality care
  • Individualized Treatment Plans and Objectives for each child accessed as part of each child’s online session note documentation so that technical staff and supervisors as well as parents can continue to provide input and consistent support to their children.
  • The opportunity for parents, team members, and WSC administrators to regularly view the number hours of Family Consulting, IISS, Respite Care, and Therapeutic Integration used in order to support staff from exceeding the child’s allotted service hours.
  • A series of articles intended to support interested readers to think beyond the clinical definition of autism