Specialisterne: leveraging the unique skills of Autistics at competitive market terms

[Visionary7903]

The last couple of posts have focused on Autism-related organisations and events in the state of Michigan.

With 2 locations, in Granger, Indiana and in Southwest Michigan, the Sonya Ansari Autism Learning Center at Logan provides a Center-based Applied Behavior Analysis program for preschool and school age children with Autism. The Michiana* area nonprofit welcomes children, teens and adults to explore and reach their potential through communication and social skills development, recreation and support services…

*Michiana is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan centered on the city of South Bend, Indiana

On stage, a woman is singing about Georgia being on her mind, but out in the crowd Lisa DelPrete is thinking about the parents.

Those parents, she says, who are just learning that their son or daughter has autism.

On Saturday afternoon, at Mishwaka’s police union lodge, DelPrete and friend Myra Sweeny kicked off what they hope will become an annual event – The Climb Music Festival.

The festival – an eight-hour party with food, bands and door prizes – was a fundraiser the two women hope will bring additional resources to Michiana for parents of children with autism.

Both mothers of sons with autism, DelPrete and Sweeny said the festival was a chance for them to give back to a growing community.

When her son Darby, now 10, was diagnosed with autism, Sweeny said she was able to quickly find help at the Sonya Ansari Center for Autism, an affiliate of Logan Center.

…Sweeny and DelPrete said an organization in Chicago, called Have Dreams, offers classes for parents of children with autism, but that holding a two-day session in South Bend costs about $8,000.

“We thought this is something we could do to raise the money and make it more affordable for parents to attend,” said Sweeny.

After reaching that goal, DelPrete said the idea is to keep expanding the festival to raise more money for expanded autism education and resources in Michiana.

“We want people to feel like they have a place to go where they can talk to someone who understands what they’re going through,” DelPrete said.

Here is a link to a video on another fundraising event for the Sonya Ansari Autism Learning Center at Logan, the annual ‘Par for the Cause’ in Mishawaka; each year, local golf pro Ben Berger plays a marathon session of over 500 holes of golf to benefit the nonprofit: “612” - A look back at Par for the Cause 2010 - YouTube

(sources: http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2011-05-01/news/29494880_1_autism-sonya-ansari-center-parents; http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/48676317.html)