The SSM Health Treffert Center – renowned for its comprehensive, multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment of autism and behavior and communication disorders in children and adults – celebrated the opening of new SSM Health Treffert Studios in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The new studios offer a unique space where neurodivergent people can collaborate on creative arts and multimedia projects to build confidence through self-expression and secure gainful employment to take the lead in their own lives. SSM Health President and CEO Laura Kaiser, members of our System Board and other regional and local leaders came together for the studio’s ribbon-cutting ceremony on Fond du Lac’s Moraine Park Technical College grounds on September 18. “While Treffert Studios is physically located in Fond du Lac, its reach goes beyond state, national and even international boundaries,” according to Kaiser. “It helps us extend these vital services to all regardless of physical location.” The studios and center are named for Dr. Darold Treffert, the world-renowned psychiatrist who dedicated his life to the study and treatment of savant syndrome, hyperlexia and autism and established the center in Fond du Lac. “In health care we so often see people when they are most vulnerable, and we make every effort to give them the best possible health outcomes while caring for their whole being with respect, concern and compassion,” says Wisconsin Regional President Sue Anderson. “Treffert Studios exemplifies this passion, helping us take the many innovations that Dr. Treffert and his colleagues have driven for so many years right here in the Fond du Lac area throughout the state, the nation and the globe.” The new space 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 innovating mental health care through multimedia-based treatments. “Many neurodivergent individuals remain under employed or unemployed,” according to SSM Health’s Meg Puddy, director of 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. SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital President Katherine Vergos said this new milestone for the Treffert Center is a testament to Dr. Treffert’s out-of-the box thinking. “Today, we are surrounded by Dr. Treffert’s vision to understand the unique abilities of individuals with savant syndrome, hyperlexia and autism, and offer innovative treatments and strategies focused on strengths, rather than limitations,” she says. Visit treffertstudios.com to learn more.
