PALM BEACH GARDENS — One of Florida's first day programs for neurodivergent children is set to soon open its doors in Palm Beach Gardens.
More than 100 people gathered on Thursday, Oct. 1, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the NorthStar Day Program, which will provide education, speech therapy, occupational therapy and other services for children ages 5-12.
Neurodivergent speaks to the way the brain processes information. It can include persons with conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit disorder.
The NorthStar program will formally begin on Nov. 2. The facility is in a medical office building at 4750 E. Park Drive, along Burns Road between Interstate 95 and Alternate A1A.
“This is game-changing for local parents," said
James McManus, founder and CEO of NorthStar Behavioral Health.
"Families have spent far too long trying to navigate a fragmented system to get their neurodivergent children the care and support they need. Our goal is to give families one team, one place and one plan, with everyone working together to help each child thrive.”
McManus said the day care program will coordinate care between multiple behavioral health specialists, allowing neurodivergent children to receive care in one location.
"All of that team is interdisciplinary, so they truly work together," he said. "They're not on islands. They all work for the same company, they're in the same office and that's what we feel is the unique portion of this."
McManus said the inspiration for the program was borne in part from his own experience in seeking care for his son who was diagnosed with a speech disorder five years ago. He said he identified gaps in the health services provided, with insurance companies only providing coverage for certain types of therapy.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in the day care program's medical office building. Those in attendance included Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Dana Middleton and former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg.
Aronberg praised McManus' effort in helping Palm Beach County address its sober homes crisis, a major focus of Aronberg's tenure as the county's top prosecutor.
'When I was state attorney and we were cleaning up the drug treatment and sober home industry, I turned to James McManus as the guy who knew how to do it right," Aronberg told those in attendance.
"As the one who was the role model, who could come up with the most ethical sober homes, residential treatment centers who can help people at the lowest stages of their lives."
Julius Whigham II covers northern Palm Beach County and public safety for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: New center offers 'game changing' care for neurodivergent children
