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Family & Youth Forum |
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February What's Inside
Partnerships for Hope and Service
Mission
Past Issues
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It is said that for money you can have everything, but you cannot. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; knowledge but not wisdom ... You can have the husk of everything for money, but not the kernel. --Arne Garborg
Such a true statement! So often, the greatest gifts we can give or receive cannot be purchased with money. And so it goes with the families we work with through the Autism Support Alliance.
Recent conversations I have had with the caregivers of some of the
young adults in our program illustrate this point. They have
explained to me how valuable they feel the experience of our
socialization groups has been for their young adult children. Upon
entering our high school socialization group last year, one young
man was too shy to make any eye contact with others, much less
Skills we take for granted, such as budgeting, studying effectively, or even passing a driving exam, can be tremendous challenges for young adults living with an autism spectrum disorder. After two failed attempts at college and a constant struggle with social anxiety, one of our young adult group members gave up being a chemist and decided to enter the job force. Unable to hold a job due to lack of interest in the chosen job, this young man was linked with our agency. He is now enrolled full-time at McNeese State University and majoring in his special interest - chemistry. This young man recently commented that he had “ruined the curve” for his class by passing all of his tests with extremely high A’s. He is much happier now because he is finally doing something he fully enjoys. These types of accomplishments toward independent living are huge triumphs, and we all celebrate with them! No amount of money can purchase for these individuals the skills they are learning that will carry them through the rest of their lives. And we are proud to be a part of their learning process.
For more information on services offered through the Autism Support Alliance, contact us at 337-436-9533.
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introduce himself. After being in group for about a year, he is now
making more eye contact, introducing himself and even initiating
conversation with peers. School officials have noticed such a big
change in him that he was chosen to report the weather forecast (his
special interest) each morning over the school intercom. Through
being part of a group that guides and challenges it’s participants
to incorporate life skills and enhance social skills, these young
people have been able to make remarkable gains toward personal
independence.