About Groden Network • About the Drs. Groden • Quick Facts About Autism
About the Groden Network
In 1976, Drs. June and Gerald Groden opened the Groden Center in response to the absence of maximally effective services for persons with autism and other developmental challenges. Thirty years later, the program has expanded its services to children, teens, and adults with a range of learning and behavioral disabilities through four corporations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts:
The Groden Center, Inc. is a school and residential treatment center in Rhode Island enhancing the lives of children and youth with autism, behavioral disorders, and developmental disabilities by providing early autism intervention services, an early childhood education program at the Livingston Center, as well as providing functional and social development instruction to school-age children with learning disabilities.
The Cove Center, Inc. provides instructional vocational and residential programs for adults over 21 in Rhode Island with developmental disabilities, autism, mental retardation, behavioral disorders, emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, and mental health disorders.
The Halycon Center, Inc. provides instructional vocational and residential programs for adults over 21 in Massachusetts with developmental disabilities, autism, mental retardation, behavioral disorders, emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, and mental health disorders.
Kingston Hill Academy, an inclusive Charter School in Rhode Island, serves 80% typical children and 20% children with special needs. Kingston Hill Academy focuses on the needs of individual students through the use of individual learning plans. The academy groups children into interest and ability groups to ensure the individual needs are met while social skills and behavior are cultivated.
The Groden Center is recognized internationally for its pioneering work with individuals with autism. World renowned psychologists and other consultants are available to work with our children and adults. The Groden Center is committed to being a symbol in the community of what is possible in the field of human services as opposed to what simply is.
The Groden and Cove Centers comprise the largest provider of services in Rhode Island for children and adults with autism. Together, the Network supports over 1,000 families each year in a broad range of individualized services, employing over 500 professional and trained staff in four day and 19 residential facilities. The array of services provided by the Network reflects a continuum of supports to meet the needs of its consumers throughout their lives.
The Groden Network partners with major Rhode Island universities and colleges, teaching courses and workshops. In addition, our psychologists deliver presentations and seminars at national and international conferences. Groden Center staff have authored books and resource materials used by professionals worldwide in autism work.
Currently, the Groden Network is collaborating with URI to offer an ABA continuing education program. Dr. Gerald Groden has developed an Applied Behavioral Psychology Certificate Program at the College of Continuing Education at the University of Rhode Island. This program will prepare someone for an associate degree in ABA procedures. Many of the Groden Network's clinical staff teach in this program. Dr. Groden is also in the process of developing a similar program at Rhode Island College.
Download the brochure for URI's Applied Behavioral Psychology Certificate Program.
Download the Groden Network Timeline, which charts our growth over the past 30 years.
(To view a PDF, you must have Adobe Reader)
About the Drs. Groden
June Groden holds a Ph.D. and masters of arts degrees in psychology from Boston College, in addition to a masters of education from Rhode Island College, and a bachelor of science degree in business administration from New York University.
Since 1976, Dr. Groden has been the executive director of the Groden Center in Providence, Rhode Island. For the past thirty-years she has been actively involved in numerous programs for people with autism, developmental disabilities, retardation and other behavioral problems. She has developed specialized programs in the areas of behavior therapy and parent skills training. Dr. Groden serves on the clinical faculty at the University of Rhode Island and is also a visiting lecturer at the Center for the Study of Human Development at Brown University. She maintains a private practice and is a consultant to school systems and other institutions. She serves on the Panel of Professional Advisors of the Autism Society of America.
As a researcher, Dr. Groden has developed techniques to promote relaxation in special needs children and adults, and has implemented programs utilizing imagery procedures for persons with autism and retardation. She is co-author with Joseph Cautela of Relaxation: A Comprehensive Manual for Adults, Children, and Children with Special Needs and has produced three videos on the use of relaxation procedures entitled Breaking the Barriers: Relaxation Techniques for People with Special Needs; Breaking the Barriers II: Imagery Procedures for People with Special Needs, and Breaking the Barriers III: Intensive Early Intervention and Beyond: A School-based Inclusion Program. She has written numerous articles and book chapters on stress, relaxation and picture rehearsal.
Gerald Groden received his BA and MA from the University of Vermont, and his Ph.D. from Purdue University in Clinical Child Psychology. Since 1976, Dr. Groden has served as Co-Executive Director for The Groden Center in Providence, RI. He currently is a Visiting Adjunct Associate Professor at Brown University at the Center for the Study of Human Development, and an Adjunct Associate Professor of psychology at the University of Rhode Island, Department of Psychology. From 1966 until 1978, he served as Director of Psychology at the Rhode Island Hospital Child Development Center.
Dr. Groden participated in developing the first multi-agency cooperative early intervention program in Rhode Island. His position also included the Directorship of the Child Development Center Early Intervention Project. From 1963-1966, Dr. Groden was an assistant professor in at the Department of Pediatric Neurology at Indiana University Medical School. He has taught psychology and related courses in the fields of the exceptional child and abnormal development psychology at the University of Rhode Island Extension Division, Rhode Island College, and Indiana University.
Dr. Groden has published widely in books and scientific journals and has contributed to research in the field of autism and child behavior disorders. He co-edited, and authored chapters in Autism: Strategies For Change and is an author of Understanding Challenging Behavior: A Step-by-Step Behavior Analysis Guide. In 2001 he also co-authored Covert Positive Reinforcement for the Encyclopedia of Psychotherapy. Dr. Groden has consulted throughout the country and has lectured across the U. S. and internationally.
In 2002, Common Cause of Rhode Island honored him as an Executive Board Member of the Rhode Island Children’s Policy Coalition for effective volunteer citizen advocacy on behalf of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children. In 2001 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Support of Persons with Autism, from the Rhode Island Chapter of Unlocking Autism.
Quick Facts about Autism
- Autism is the most common of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders, affecting an estimated 1 in 150 births (Centers for Disease Control Prevention, 2007).
- Based on statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and other governmental agencies, autism is growing at a startling rate of 10-17 percent per year. At this rate, the Autism Society of America (ASA) estimates that the prevalence of autism could reach 4 million Americans in the next decade.
- Autism knows no racial, ethnic, social boundaries, family income, lifestyle, or educational levels and can affect any family, and any child.
- And although the overall incidence of autism is consistent around the globe, it is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls.
Did you know…
- 1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism
- 1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum
- 67 children are diagnosed per day
- A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes
- More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined
- Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
- Autism costs the nation over $90 billion per year, a figure expected to double in the next decade
- Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
- Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
- There is no medical detection or cure for autism
Incidence vs. Private Funding
- Leukemia: Affects 1 in 25,000 / Funding: $310 million
- Muscular Dystrophy: Affects 1 in 20,000 / Funding: $175 million
- Pediatric AIDS: Affects 1 in 8,000 / Funding: $394 million
- Juvenile Diabetes: Affects 1 in 500 / Funding: $130 million
- Autism: Affects 1 in 150 / Funding: $15 million
National Institutes of Health Funds Allocation
- Total 2005 NIH budget: $29 billion
- Of this, only $100 million goes towards autism research. This represents 0.3% of total NIH funding.