The SSM Health Treffert Center, which provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment of autism and behavior and communication disorders in children and adults, opened the new SSM Health Treffert Studios in Fond du Lac.
The studios offer a space where neurodivergent people can collaborate on creative arts and multimedia projects to build confidence through self-expression and secure gainful employment.
“While Treffert Studios is physically located in Fond du Lac, its reach goes beyond state, national and even international boundaries,” said SSM Health President and CEO Laura Kaiser. “It helps us extend these vital services to all regardless of physical location.”
The studios and center are named for Dr. Darold Treffert, a psychiatrist who dedicated his life to the study and treatment of savant syndrome, hyperlexia and autism and established the center in Fond du Lac.
Treffert Studios can be used for live performances, production of music and gaming videos and fine arts displays. It also is a center for cultivating critical life skills for patients and mental health care through multimedia-based treatments.
“Many neurodivergent individuals remain under employed or unemployed,” said Meg Puddy, director of SSM Health behavioral health community-based services. “The promise of a studio in partnership with Moraine Park is to leverage individual and community strengths to increase opportunities for individual and community productivity and long-term economic health.”
The center also offers a space to help in training and educating Wisconsin’s mental health workforce.
Visit treffertstudios.com to learn more.
