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Date: 10/20/2021
NORTHAMPTON – Fields Center, a Northampton organization that offers community-based autism support and positive behavior support, recently relocated to a new location at 881 N. King St and conducted an open house on Oct. 13 to celebrate the occasion.
The center, which originally opened in September of 2019 at Roundhouse Plaza in downtown Northampton, provides counseling and clinical services for individuals with autism as well as their parents and caregivers. According to their website, programs are normally individualized since each person on the autism spectrum is unique. Clinicians from Fields also provide professional development trainings for professionals, schools, and agencies who serve individuals on the autism spectrum.
According to Fields Center founder and CEO Jennifer Bogin, the organization had to close its doors at Roundhouse and move everything online because of the pandemic. Bogin landed on the King Street spot because someone she works with at Greenfield Savings Bank knew the owner of the Valley Fabrics store that was in the building prior. And since Valley was moving out anyway for a new location, Bogin hopped in on the space, which she calls “perfect for our services.”
“In terms of the general programming that we’re able to do, [the location] is a lot more flexible,” said Bogin, who serves anyone from early childhood to adulthood, as well as their families. The space has already allowed individuals the opportunity to brainstorm and suggest specific activities for the center on their “big board.” “A 14-year-old girl came and was like, ‘you guys should do a manga club,’ and I was like, ‘okay cool,’” Bogin added. The plan is to use these ideas as vehicles for future programs and activities.
The location also features a Lego area, a “Genius Bar,” an office space for individual clients for speech therapy and other types of therapy, as well as a play space for toddlers and small children, which includes a swing, a small rock-climbing wall, some mats, and a sensory space for individuals who are non-speaking or have a sensory processing disorder. That section of the playroom was built by Sarah Weirich, a sensory architect and autism advocate who even has her own website on these types of designs – https://embracingthespectrum.org/. The space reflects the wide range of ages Bogin works with, which can range anywhere between two and 60 years of age.
“The space works really well for multiple ages…it works really well for different types of groups and therapies,” said Bogin, whose wife, Toni, is the director of operations. Outside of them, Bogin has hired 15 to 17 people that do different types of therapy, including Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs). RBTs can do group sessions at the center, but they also go to schools to conduct consultations. Bogin spends most of her time with these consultations, as well.
“I think what COVID[-19] has taught me is you have to be flexible with your community and customer,” said Bogin, adding that she still has customers with compromised immune systems still doing virtual work because of COVID-19. On the flip side, she has many customers who want to leave the house and make their connections in-person. “I have a little bit of everything and am able to offer all those options.”
Although they are still settling in, Bogin said the center hopes to conduct weekly drop-ins every Friday at the center, with smaller children being the focus during the day, and teens and adults being the focus in the evening and night. The goal is to provide information for anyone looking to learn more about neurodiversity, which refers to the variation in the brain regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions.
“I’m building this is a shell and a place that’s responsive for the community,” said Bogin. “It’s so important as a community of mostly neurotypical people to really truly include people with all different kinds of neurodiversity. No one will ever need a diagnosis to be here…no one will need a doctor’s note to be here.”
Although it is difficult to tell where the center will be down the road, Bogin hopes that it will be successful enough to expand to other areas and serve other people in the community. “There’s a freedom with being responsible to a community as a opposed to a funder,” said Bogin, who added that they have a non-profit branch they hope to implement for fundraising free projects.
Bogin began doing work such as this in 2001, a period when she just thought she wanted to work with children. She instead decided to expand her work after realizing how important it was to stay with people through their lifetime. She was board certified as a behavioral analyst in 2004, and her clinic methods are grounded in applied behavior analysis. She has been interested in autism work since she was a child.
Bogin’s uncle, Frederick Douglass “Rick” Fields, inspired the Fields Center name. He was a journalist, poet, and leading authority on Buddhist history and development in the United States. Fields, who died of lung cancer in 1999, left Bogin with a quote that stuck with her forever: “When we pay attention, whatever we are doing is transformed and becomes part of our spiritual path.”
“Twenty years ago, no one had heard about autism … it was considered a low instance disability,” said Bogin. “It’s literally been my calling since I was a 10-year-old kid. This is my spiritual path.”
Anyone looking to be involved with the Fields Center can visit their website at https://fieldscenter.org/ and learn more about the organization.