In the three years since Ramona Marshall's son was diagnosed with autism, the Southern California woman has seen the inside of a lot of school conference rooms, doctors' offices and therapists' rooms. But she thinks she may have found a single place where her son, now age five, can receive much of the care and attention he needs.

At the Kids Institute for Development & Advancement in Irvine, Calif., Marshall can relax and chat with other parents of kids with autism while her son receives a range of services to help him overcome speech and social deficits. Or she can work out in a gym in the facility designed to give parents a healthy way to alleviate some stress. Or she can consult with one of the therapists on staff.

The facility, one of the first in the country attempting to combine a wide range of autism services in one location, has made life a little easier for the Marshall family.

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"I think we need places like this all over," Marshall says one afternoon while waiting for her son to finish a session with a therapist. "Families of kids with autism do enough driving as it is. This center is exciting for the kids; it's play-based, safe and clean. And for parents, it's like a support system."

Convenience for families and advancement for kids are the objectives at KiDA.Today one in every 88 kids has autism, and autism diagnosis rates gave risen more tahn 78 percent over the last decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The need for convenient, efficient and effective autism services has never been greater. But often that care is fragmented.

Earlier this year, KiDA opened a new 50,000-square-foot facility that offers multidisciplinary, comprehensive autism services under one roof. Kids can go to school, receive a range of one-on-one services, play in a gym, socialize and even see a neurologist -- sometimes all in one day. About 100 families are currently involved with the center.

"For a lot of families with kids on the autism spectrum, they have to drive around for medical appointments, therapies, education, family support," Kristen Coates,manager of administration at KiDA, told TakePart. "It's a lot of stress on the child and the family. It takes a toll. The founders wanted to see a place where everything came together under one roof now. They wanted to see a more integrated system that would really provide comprehensive services."

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KiDA didn't begin with such a grand scheme, however. It was started in 2008 by a family with a child with autism who wanted a place for kids with the disorder to gather. In a 5,000-square-foot facility, a few families met to socialize and allow children with autism to play in a specially designed gym. Soon after, the group arranged to offer speech therapy on site.

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Facility Offers One-Stop Shopping for Families of Kids with Autism