Just one of the many resources on autism, the Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation (ASDF) puts forth a great deal of effort in helping those with autism, helping the parents who have children with autism, furthering the awareness of and research for autism, and linking many other autism resources to their site for people to make connections through.
The biggest thing the ASDF does is provide scholarships , financial assistance, and other forms of fiscal and technical support to families who can’t otherwise afford to care for their autistic child(ren) without making sacrifices in the other areas of basic needs. This is crucial, because autism doesn’t choose just the middle to upper class families to affect, and impoverished and lower class families struggle enough without having to worry about meeting the needs of their special needs children.
ASDF has resources to help children with equine therapy, social skills summer camps, iPads to assist with communication barriers, swim school programs and even film school programs. The extraordinary skills these children have are very gifted in a sense, and ASDF helps support the gifts the children have with these programs. They have several associate partners who provide all of the above, and parents can contact ASDF for more information on their programs.
It’s life changing what ASDF does and can do for you and families in similar financial straits. Their Christmas gift card program at this moment is one of the most monumental resources parents can receive, because the holidays are the most difficult time of the year, autistic children or no autistic children. Finding the means just to buy food and not even consider presents or presents that would aid their child’s therapeutic development is often impossible.
Parents can make contact with a representative through the ASDF website by filling in their contact form, by emailing them at info@myasdf.org, by calling or Skyping them at 877.806.0635 , faxing them at 484.423.2346, or directly snail mailing them at:
Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation
228 W. Lincoln Highway 301
Schererville, IN 46375
Their camp programs unfortunately, can only help your child if you live in North Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, and California. They are looking for other partners and to expand into other states, so if you know anyone that would like to donate time, services, money or anything else to ASDF, contact them about this too. The Giving Tree programs and financial assistance are available to anyone who can make a good case for assistance, and you never know unless you try.
The iPad program might work for you too, if you have a child whose attention is focused when it comes to electronic devices and is willing to learn from them but unable to assemble words and sentences without. It’s another program you have to apply for, but again, if it can help you and your child with ASD, why wouldn’t you at least make the effort?
If nothing else, ASDF might be able to point you in the direction of other foundations and organizations where you live that can help you, even if ASDF can’t. Any good resource helps you find another, and that is the focus of many autism resources after all. Parents can’t always find them on their own, but when they connect with one, they usually connect with a dozen with a single mouse click. Read our, “Online Resources For Autism“.
“Financial assistance for children with autism” and “Respite Care Information for Children with Autism“