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Victoria Chandler stood by her red minivan in the parking lot of Melwood Horticultural Training Center, an Upper Marlboro organization that works with people with disabilities. Her daughter, Tiara, who has low-functioning autism, sat in the backseat.

"She likes it here," Victoria said. "She doesn't like to leave when I come get her."

Tiara, who cannot speak, hunched down in her seat and kept pushing a button that made the van's side door close. Victoria kept catching the door and forcing it back open.

"She does OK," Victoria said. "She has her days."

Melwood held its first day of after-school activities for Tiara, 15, and other autistic children Tuesday. The service is part of a larger program, started in late August, that offers training to parents of autistic children and sends staff members to children's homes so parents can run errands and autistic children can learn to socialize.

The program is free for the children who are currently enrolled because they have autism waivers in which the Maryland State Department of Education pays for some of their expenses. Kristin Rocks, who directs the program, said there are many autistic children who cannot get waivers, and she hopes to help those children find funding to pay for Melwood's services.

"We're trying to connect them with all the funding we can think of," she said. "But it gets tough to get kids in who aren't on the waiver."

Program organizers, who drive children to the campus from Temple Hills and Bowie, said there are now 10 children enrolled in the program. Rocks said she hopes to double the enrollment by the end of the school year by holding three open houses in the next two months and by working with area schools.

Rocks said the new program will offer many autistic children more help than they usually receive.

"Day care and after-school programs are difficult to find and keep, especially when your kid has a disability," said Rocks, a licensed psychotherapist. "[In regular after-school programs], the majority of children will just sit in the corner, so they're not getting a lot out of the program."

The children who come to Melwood are extremely low-functioning. Most of them cannot communicate verbally, Rocks said, and many become aggressive for no clear reason. Some of the children, whose ages range from 8 to 20, have not learned to use the toilet.

Melwood staff members try to teach children to socialize and to learn basic skills in hygiene, motor skills and other aspects of daily life. They use physical therapy, music, sports and art to make autistic children feel comfortable and help them develop, Rocks said.

"Unfortunately, autism isn't something you're going to grow out of," she said. "But we can teach kids with autism to socialize… We really work on creating independence."

Staff member Amanda Sanders, a recent graduate of Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, said she liked her job so far.

"I love working with kids, especially kids with special needs," she said. "A lot of times these kids are forgotten."

As Sanders spoke, a girl walked up to her, put her hands around Sanders' throat and started to strangle her. Sanders and other staff members pushed the girl back and calmed her down.

"It's just patience," Sanders said. "You have to have a lot of patience."

In the parking lot by her van, Victoria Chandler talked about patience too.

"Hopefully [Tiara] will be just a little calmer [because of the program]," she said. "There are still more things I'd like for her to learn," she said, such as not to eat dirt and how to use the bathroom.

Tiara pushed the button in the van again. Victoria's arm shot out, and she forced the door open again.