CHICAGO AUTISM NETWORK

Chicago Autism Network is a young nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families find and afford effective autism therapy. While the Chicagoland area has a wealth of quality autism service providers, too many families just can’t afford the therapy their child needs. We believe that autism therapy should be available to all who need it. To help families learn more about autism, we hold free monthly parent workshops. Professionals working with autism will present on a range of topics, to help families and caregivers learn best practices and strategies. We also host important information such as a calendar of events and articles by professionals. To help more families access therapy, we created the Therapy Assistance Grant Program, which offers financial aid to help families cover out-of-pocket therapy costs and/or insurance premiums. In the first year of the program (2019), we were able to give $10,000 in financial assistance to families in need. For our second and current year, we were able to double our grant amount, awarding over $22,000 to local families. Though this may seem like a negligible amount compared to existing need, the grants have had a deep impact on the recipients and their families. In just two years, our Therapy Assistance Grant Program has accomplished the following: • Enabled 3 children to start intensive autism therapy (2 in-home ABA programs, 1 therapeutic day-school), • Helped 3 families be able to continue receiving services they wouldn’t have been able to afford without assistance, • Assisted 1 family in paying off medical debts accrued from ABA therapy.