Our Story

St Gerard Center for Autism opened its doors in 2010 and since then has been a center of hope for individuals with autism and their families. Although this is when St Gerard Center for Autism began serving the autism community, the story begins many years before that.

Co-founder Caroline Long had her son, Liam Patrick Gerard Blackwell, in 2000. Liam was a beautiful and happy baby, but Caroline began noticing things about him that were unexpected. Although Liam was a joy to be around, he demonstrated very repetitive behaviors, severe gut issues and seemed to be falling behind other children his age developmentally. Then her daughter, Bridget, was born and had her own set of complications. At the age of three, Liam was diagnosed with autism and shortly after Bridget was diagnosed at the age of two.

With two children that needed help and little understanding of what autism was, Caroline went to work. For months, she spent long nights studying. She wanted to understand autism from a fundamental level in order to make the right choices for her children. After a year of effective dietary interventions, she had a conversation with a local mom who introduced her to Applied Behavior Analysis therapy.

Caroline found a therapist offering ABA and was astounded by the progress her children made. That local mom had a daughter named Rachael Cushing Cook, who was one of Liam’s first therapists and very gifted with connecting with children. At this point, Caroline was fully aware of the lack of service providers offering ABA for children with autism in Western North Carolina. Caroline knew that one day she and Rachael would work together in some capacity helping other families. Ultimately, Caroline and Rachel co-founded St. Gerard House in 2010, what is now the St Gerard Center for Autism.