Two Roanoke-area nonprofit groups serving students with disabilities have merged in an attempt to consolidate services in light of the economic recession.

The Blue Ridge Autism Center and the Achievement Center will join forces and be known as the Blue Ridge Autism and Achievement Center. The merger has been in the works since April and was finalized Monday.

The new group will be based at the Achievement Center's location on Whitwell Drive in Roanoke County.

Nonprofits, such as the Achievement Center, have been hurt in the downturn. Meanwhile, the Blue Ridge Autism Center, which had been based at Rainbow Forest Baptist Church, was looking for space to serve more students with autism, said Angela Leonard, executive director of the autism group who will become executive director of the new entity.

"It was like this little marriage made in heaven," she said of the merger. "We're going to fill that building up. We loved being at Rainbow Forest Baptist Church, but we didn't have the same kind of space."

The autism center was founded seven years ago. It serves 17 children on a $25,000 budget. The Achievement Center, which was created about 30 years ago, served 42 students during the 2008-09 school year on a budget of roughly $1.5 million, according to Leonard.

Staff from the groups will hold an informational meeting on the merger at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Achievement Center, 312 Whitwell Drive in Roanoke County.