A new program in the Rio Grande Valley is bringing daily therapy into the classroom for young students with autism.

Classroom IDEAL (Individuals Dedicated to Excellence, Achievement, and Learning for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder) is a new autism early intervention program at IDEA Quest Academy, created through a partnership between IDEA Public Schools and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Three classrooms at IDEA Quest can serve up to 45 students between 5 and 7 years old this year.

Each classroom includes an IDEA special education teacher and two paraprofessionals. UTRGV specialists rotate through, providing speech, occupational, and behavioral therapy.

"So basically, they're doing therapy sessions that are aligned to our curriculum, and then our teachers are also embedding the therapy into their instruction," IDEA Public Schools Regional Senior VP of Special Programs Dr. Ashley Wheeler said.

For Cindy Valdes, the program is personal. Her 7-year-old son Adrian has autism and is one of the students enrolled.

"At the beginning, it was kind of hard for me. Not because I was in denial, but it was mostly because I didn't know how I was going to be able to help him. I didn't have the tools or the skills to be able to help him," Valdes said.

She hopes the daily therapy will make a difference for Adrian and his classmates.

"I'm pretty sure after getting or receiving therapy every single day, students are going to be able to be more independent and to be able to socialize," Valdes said.

UTRGV researchers want to measure that progress using a $1 million state grant awarded to UTRGV to track student outcomes more than 2 years.

UTRGV Associate Professor Dr. Noe Ramos said the team intends to see whether intensive intervention can help children reach developmental goals faster.

"The goal is obviously if a child would take a year or seven years to kind of gain these goals, we could hopefully get them done in seven to 12 months. That's the goal," Ramos said.

When asked what word comes to mind when she thinks about the program, Valdes had one answer.

"Independence," Valdes said.

Currently, Classroom Ideal is only offered at IDEA Quest Academy. IDEA Quest Principal Blanca Garza told Channel 5 News 26 students are currently enrolled, leaving 19 spots open for eligible students. Parents can still enroll their children. Additional details are available online.

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