Parents of children with autism or learning disabilities have another choice of where to have their child educated in the Monroeville area.

Milestone Achievement Center of America will officially open a private school for students with developmental disorders on March 18 with a ribbon cutting ceremony at its new facility in the former Garden City Elementary School at 715 Bilberry Road from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The company, which is headquartered in Indiana, Pa., decided to expand into southwestern Pennsylvania, Monroeville in particular, because of a greater number of children being diagnosed with autism, according to Elizabeth Wistuk, education director.

"There's more of a need for it," she said. "Parents say, 'Why can't you be closer to us.'"

Autism, the cause of which has been linked to genetics and/or environmental factors, is characterized by impaired social interaction and restricted and repetitive behavior. By age 3, one in 150 children will be diagnosed with some form of autism. There is no one cause for autism agreed upon by the medical community, some of the more controversial ones have ranged from vaccinations to living in heavily industrialized, or formerly industrialized areas.

The school already has four students who range from elementary to high school ages and is staffed by two special education teachers and two paraprofessional teacher's aides, according to Wistuk.

The school won't just work with and children diagnosed with autism, but those with other learning disabilities and in need of emotional support.

Those lessons can include anything from teaching students life skills such as cooking, cleaning and laundry to anger control, according to Joe Eveges, clinical director for achievement.

"These are basic life skills that a lot of us take for granted," he said.

He said the school can be good for parents whose children aren't suited for home schools.

"They've run into behavior (issues) at school or at home or the law," said Eveges. "School districts needed to find alternative places to educate them."

School officials, for example, may try to phase out bad behavior that actually may just be a way to communicate a need -- for example, students may hit themselves just to get across that they want a restroom break.

"We target what it is they want to do and replace that behavior," Eveges said. "Get them to point to a card or something else instead."

Wistuk added that with some area schools having problems with overpopulation in programs for children with special needs, it's good to have individualized attention for those students.

Class time usually includes courses like any other school such as social studies.

But it's not all work, as the grounds also include a gymnasium, fence-enclosed playground and a basketball hoop.

Staff isn't using a majority of the classrooms but hope to remedy that soon. The class size total limit will be about eight students for a maximum of 56 students in seven classrooms.

Some of those students, staff members hope, will be able to make the transition back to public schools following education and life skill training, said Wistuk.

Eveges agrees.

"There are a lot of heartbreaking cases but a lot of successes," he said. "The successes they keep you going."