Rio Rancho to get new Autism center

RIO RANCHO — One in four kids with signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder goes through life undiagnosed in the United States and don’t receive any kind of treatment for the disorder.

Now, Rio Rancho will have less chances of kids going undiagnosed because a new autism center is set to open in 2025.

Proud Moments ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) will not only help with diagnosing kids ages infant to adolescent but also provide a specialized therapy plan that will help them prepare for life, school and other tasks made difficult by their disorder, according to Sarah Baca, MBA, a Certified Family Peer Support Worker, marketing specialist for Proud Moments and most importantly mom of a kid with autism.

“Depending on their prescription for services and we work with them in a one-on-one environment, working on things like communication, socialization, behavior and independent daily living skills. So we’re really excited there’s another center in Rio Rancho,” she said.

Baca gave the Observer a tour of the Westside Proud Moments off of McMahon just before Christmas.

“This is what we call our West Side Learning Center. The one in Rio Rancho is going to be set up very similar as far as children and the staff, it’s a one-to-one,” she explained.

The building is set up with specific rooms to meet each child’s needs. Baca did stress that the center is not a day care but a place of learning for kids with Autism that fall anywhere on the spectrum.

“Some of our kiddos are, we like to call them learners with higher needs, might be with us for eight hours a day versus four. We do offer an evening block as well for children or for learners who are older that are in school and then they come to us in the