Bringing Resources to Families & Professionals Everywhere.
Stars of Autism, Finding the Spark
The Autism Today brand is inspired by the idea of the Red Green, Blue light spectrum When the three lights combine, we find a bright white in the intersection of colors which emphasize the gifts, strengths and talents of neurodiverse individuals.
This concept plays with the idea of moments when all the pieces come together, and you find the “spark”. It is the moment of clarity, when all perspectives align and there is hope.
We give our children gold stars when they excel in school and to reward them for a job well done. It is up to us to focus on the amazing abilities people have to offer and shine light on their talent.
Charitable Purpose
The estimated lifetime cost of supporting an individual with autism spectrum disorder ranges between $1.2 million to $4.7 million based on the level of symptom severity and disability (Dudley & Emery, 2014).
Families spend from $27,000 to $130,000 a year to support one family member with autism or neurodiversity.
In a recent study (Roddy & O’Neill, 2018) when government restricted funding to $20,000 in general supports, many of these families spent in excess of $40,000 out-of-pocket for additional treatment and support. Much of this annual expense can be wasted on therapies, products and services that don’t work each individual’s unique situation and valuable time and money is continually wasted without any substantial gains.
Lifetime Cost savings
Cost savings of more than $50,000 per person during their lifetime based on increased independence.
Cost savings of $276,000 per person in direct and indirect healthcare and social supports.
We will provide scholarships, mentor programs and enhance access to education and training to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The Autism Today Foundation help reduce wasted time and money by providing much needed information as a FREE SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC.
We will promote health by showcasing for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families the wide variety of treatment methods, products and services that might be of help to their unique situation or concern and provide them with access to resources, information, support services and programs.
We will provide inspiration and hope to those struggling by showing them success stories that are similar to their own while advancing the publics appreciation of the arts by producing public art exhibitions, presentations, and performance art(s) events, and by providing a forum for artists with or impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder to exhibit, present, or perform their artistic works through participation in such events. We will teach the world to see beyond the disability and recognize the greatness that exists in every human being.
FOUNDER
Karen Simmons
She is the face of the newly evolving special needs community, shining new light on the special needs of others.
A gemologist by trade, Karen came to the autism world through her son who was diagnosed at the age of two-and-a-half. At the time she heard the news that he would be supposedly institutionalized, she was not going to have any part of it. She immediately set out on a path to change things for him, his peers, family, and those that surrounded him.