History

Carriage House Educational Services is owned and operated by the Kentucky Center for Special Children’s Services, Inc. This organization began as Louisville School for Autistic Children in 1969. It was one of the first schools in the United States providing services to individuals with autism.

After serving individuals with autism for many years, Louisville School for Autistic Children opened Carriage House Preschool in 1983. Carriage House Preschool focused on serving not only children with special needs but providing exemplary preschool experiences to all children. Carriage House Preschool welcomed many children with autism and other disabilities into a “mainstream” environment offering traditional preschool curriculum. The goal of Carriage House Preschool was to be the model for the full inclusion of children with disabilities into preschool programs with their peers in the Louisville community. That goal was accomplished as hundreds of children with disabilities in our community began and continue to attend preschools with their non-disabled peers in public and private settings.

In 1986, the Board of Directors of Louisville School for Autistic Children changed the name of the organization to Kentucky Center for Special Children’s Services, d/b/a Carriage House Educational Services and Preschool to better reflect the children and services provided.

In 2003, Carriage House collaborated with FEAT (Families for Effective Autism Treatment) of Louisville to extend the traditional preschool program to provide a specialized, intensive program for children diagnosed with autism and related disorders. The Endeavor Program’s group ABA services are geared toward serving the unique needs of these children.

In 2014, with the help of Kosair Charities, Carriage House opened the Therapeutic Education Program for children ages 3-6 years diagnosed with developmental or intellectual disabilities. This program is designed for children who would benefit from participation in a smaller environment. This program offers a structured, intensive atmosphere, where children enjoy a small group environment. While based on the principles of ABA, this small group focuses on basic developmental and prerequisite skills such as engagement, attention, following basic routines and directions, motor skills, imitation, peer interaction, social communication and social play.

Today, Carriage House Educational Services continues to provide quality services to individuals, families and organizations through our trained and experienced staff.