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ABOUT US

Rise Up For Autism offers ABA Therapy, Social Skills Groups, Potty Training in Aurora and Joliet

Rise Up For Autism offers ABA Therapy, Social Skills Groups, Potty Training, and Parent Support Groups in Aurora and Joliet

Mission:

At Rise Up For Autism, our mission is to make a positive impact in the lives of children with autism and their families. 

Vision:

We aim to help each child reach their full potential by empowering them through learning, socialization, and growth.

Values:

As individuals and together as teammate, our value drive who we are and how we do our jobs as employees of Rise Up For Autism.

We empower children and families with challenges to live, learn, work, and thrive in the community. 

At Rise Up For Autism, our experienced team of professionals strives for continual improvement to show compassion to the individuals we serve by providing ABA Therapy, Potty Training and Social Skills Group.

We empower children and families with challenges to live, learn, work, and thrive in the community. 

At Rise Up For Autism, our experienced team of professionals strives for continual improvement to show compassion to the individuals we serve by providing ABA Therapy, Potty Training, Social Skills Group, and Parent Support Groups.

Meet Our Team

Dr. Carly Lapin, Ph.D., BCBA-D, CEO

Dr. Lapin has been in the autism field for over 15 years. Clinically, Dr. Lapin specializes in increasing communication for young children with autism and has a specialty in the assessment and treatment of challenging behaviors. She has conducted research on formalizing a method to assess and enhance rapport between children with autism and their therapists. In addition, she has done research on toilet training individuals with autism and training parents to conduct the toilet training intervention. At Rise Up, Dr. Lapin will be overseeing various departments, including the ABA program, to ensure top clinical quality across each center.

Kelly

Kelly Finnegan, Director of Business Administration / Co-Founder of Rise Up For Autism

Kelly is a mom of 2 teenage girls. She has been in the Autism field for over 5 years. She started with Rise up for Autism as the very first employee participating in building out, decorating and staffing each of the centers. Kelly oversees operations and billing and works alongside the Leadership team in overseeing the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of Rise Up. 

Anna Pajor, SPHR, Director of Human Resources

Anna Pajor specializes in forming strategic partnerships. She demonstrated this through her work in Business Development and Account Management, bringing well over a decade of HR experience. During her tenure, she has successfully developed and deployed HR Consulting Services for her previous employer (part of an add-on service). Anna has been the center of HR Webinar Series focused on compliance and employee retention. Through consulting services, she has developed and streamlined processes for start-up companies and for various industries from Health Care to Transportation. Anna Holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources by HRCI. Anna has returned to her love of managing and directing in-house Human Resources as the Director of Human Resources for Rise Up For Autism, LLC.

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Sam, BCBA

Sam received her master’s from Ball State University in 2021 but has worked in the ABA field since 2018. Her favorite part of being a BCBA is seeing children make progress, as well as little moments when you see the ‘wheels turning’ when the are working through a tough situation. Sam’s advice for families is to take the leap into ABA – when you see how fast your little one progresses, it all comes into perspective!

Ashley, BCBA

Ashley has worked in ABA since 2013 and received her master’s in 2017 from Arizona State University after finding her passion for learning about human behavior. Ashley loves working with learners and their families from the start, while celebrating their growth and success together along the way! Ashley wants families to know that they are not alone in their journey with autism – she is here to listen, not pass judgement, and support them in the ways that are most meaningful for them!

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Kelcey, BCBA

Kelcey received her master’s from Ball State University in 2021 after becoming fascinated with human behaviors. Kelcey’s favorite part about working with the pediatric autism community is having the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of her clients. The autism community has taught her so much about her own perceptions of the world, and she is really thankful that she is able to learn form them every day!

Sammi, BCBA

Sammi received her master’s from Aurora University and has been in the ABA field since 2016. Her favorite part of her job is building fun teaching relationships with her clients and celebrating each small (or big!) step forward. Sammi loves working with the pediatric autism community because she gets to play everyday while teaching her learners new skills!

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Caity, BCBA

In the ABA field since 2014, Caity received her master’s from Aurora University. Her favorite part of being a BCBA is watching her clients grow every day, along with helping the whole family. Caity loves coming to work every day and working with children because they each bring such a unique point of view to everything!

Hannah, BCBA

Hannah has worked in ABA since 2017. After working in an adaptive behavior program with children with ASD, she fell in love with the field and went on to receive her master’s from Ball State University. Hannah’s advice for families with a child with ASD is to focus on what our child can do, and not what they can’t do; a diagnosis does not define them, and the sky is the limit!

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Brittney, BCBA

Brittney has worked in ABA since 2014, and has been a BCBA since 2021. She received her master’s from Capella University after finding passion in aiding others in achieving functional independence across all aspects of their lives. Brittney’s favorite part about coming to work every day is watching her clients grow and develop skills they can carry over into their adult life.