Behaven Kids Brings Two Nationally Recognized Autism Professionals to Nebraska to Serve on Advisory Committee

Paula Kenyon and Shawn Kenyon to expand Behaven Kids reach and capabilities to meet the needs of Nebraska’s underserved community of children with autism spectrum disorder and mental health conditions

OMAHA, Nebraska--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Behaven Kids, one of Nebraska’s leading providers of services for children and adolescents who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, mental health-related issues and behavioral difficulties, has added Paula Kenyon and Shawn Kenyon, two nationally recognized authorities in autism research and treatment, to its advisory committee.

Nebraska has one of the largest underserved populations in the country of minors with autism spectrum disorder and mental health conditions. More than 7,400 children in Nebraska seek autism-related services every year; the current capacity of autism centers in the state can meet only 10% of this demand, leaving 90% of children in Nebraska not receiving needed services and support. The state ranks 28 in the country for prevalence of youth mental illness and access to care. Despite this, there are provider shortages in 88 of Nebraska’s 93 counties, and 32 counties have no behavioral health providers whatsoever.

“Behaven Kids was founded in Nebraska, serves the families and children of Nebraska and is committed to providing the highest caliber of services and programs throughout Nebraska,” said Themis Gomes, CEO of Behaven Kids. “We are working to expand the reach and capabilities of Behaven Kids in order to handle the surging and unmet demand throughout the state; Paula and Shawn are an incredible addition to the team that will help us accomplish this mission.”

Paula Kenyon, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is a doctoral-level board certified behavior analyst with more than 25 years of professional experience. Dr. Kenyon has held various positions in the field of applied behavior analysis, including program coordinator at Spectrum Center, program specialist for the staff intensive unit and director of residential programs at the New England Center for Children, assistant to the CEO at Melmark and chief clinical officer at Trumpet Behavioral Health and Kadiant. Her areas of research include stimulus control, discrimination learning, sleep and naturalistic teaching. Dr. Kenyon has also been an adjunct faculty member at Northeastern University since 2007.

“Behaven Kids is in a unique position to make a significant impact on children and their families throughout Nebraska who have been struggling with autism or mental health related issues and unable to get the services they so desperately need,” said Paula Kenyon. “We are working to scale our capabilities as well as bring best practices from organizations around the world to the autism community in Nebraska.”

Shawn Kenyon, EdD, BCBA, has been working in applied behavior analysis and special education for almost 30 years. Dr. Kenyon has been a program and clinical director in public, private and non-public schools as well as residential programs in Massachusetts and California. He has consulted nationally across several states and internationally while an adjunct faculty in the graduate behavior analysis program at Northeastern University. Dr. Kenyon's areas of focus are behavior analysis in public schools, intervention, treatment integrity and the ethical issues that arise in behavior analysis.

“Our specialized day program for children with severe behavior challenges as well as the services we offer to public schools gives us the ability to have a significant impact on communities throughout Nebraska,” said Shawn Kenyon. “We hope to make significant strides in reducing the number of families in Nebraska who cannot get services and assistance.”

Behaven Kids is a provider of services for children and adolescents who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, mental health-related issues and behavioral difficulties. The company provides a full range of therapy, counseling and care services to help children, parents and families at three locations in Nebraska. Behaven Kids has more than 70 professionals with a variety of credentials and expertise, including board certified behavioral analysts, licensed behavior specialists, licensed mental health practitioners and certified clinical trauma professionals. Behaven Kids was founded in 2000. More information is available at BehavenKids.com and on social media @behavenkids.