Caregiver Resource Database

Sunlight Burning at Midnight

Starting out in life as a young wife and mother, you never imagine the ways your hopes and dreams might be completely shattered. For Jessica and her husband Jason, a series of unrelenting heartbreaks struck, beginning with their baby’s diagnosis with a life-changing disability. Just a few short years later, thirty-three-year old Jason lay in a hospital bed, battling a Glioblastoma brain tumor. And within the span of six years of marriage, Jessica became a widow left alone to care for their four young children, including one with special needs. But the story doesn’t end there. In the midst of storm after storm, Jessica stubbornly clung to God, and she found him to be faithful. Enter Ryan Ronne, a young widower and father of three. Ryan had also lost his spouse to brain cancer-in fact, around the same time Jessica’s husband, Jason, had succumbed to the disease. Just as the idea of sunlight burning at midnight sounds impossible, so it seemed unlikely anything beautiful could arise from their devastation. But a new love story emerged, along with a combined family that now numbers eight children.

Sunshine Foundation

Sunshine Foundation answers the dreams of children, ages three through eighteen, who have severe or profound physical/developmental/intellectual challenges or trauma from physical/sexual abuse, and whose families have limited income.

Surfers Healing

We take kids with autism surfing. We paddle out together on tandem boards to catch the waves that come our way. That’s what we do; that’s what we love. On the surface, our contribution seems simple: each year, our volunteer-staffed camps give over 4,500 children with autism and their families a fun, engaging day at the beach. But go deeper, and you’ll see that a quiet revolution is taking place. Through the simple act of riding waves together, we’re defying the status quo. When we help kids get up on a board, we’re challenging preconceived notions of capability. When we encourage participants to dive in, we’re empowering them to engage with the world. And when we ride the waves together, we’re affirming that every person is a gift.

Surfside Beach

Staying true to our “Family Beach” motto, Surfside Beach officially became the first autism-friendly travel destination in the world in January 2016.

T.C. Harris

T.C. Harris is a therapeutic residential and education center committed to developing educational, psychological and skill building treatment plans to meet the individual needs of each child and family. We offer both on-campus dorm and community group home options, depending on the needs of the student. Located in Lafayette, IN.

TACA

TACA understands that there are underlying medical issues that cause the symptoms we know as autism. We follow the most recent scientific discoveries and share those discoveries with parents so they can help their children. Using both targeted therapies and proven medical interventions, kids diagnosed with autism have the potential to live a healthy, independent, and joy-filled life.

Tadpole Adaptive

We are a family run, disabled-owned, small business based in San Diego. When not telling our kiddo he’s had enough screen time, bemoaning restaurant high-top tables, or chasing that alleged ‘Work/Life Balance’ We run this store. And we love it.

Talk to Me Technologies

Talk to Me Technologies is an organization that will fight on your behalf for your insurance company to cover the cost of a communication device for your child. If they are unable to do so, the can provide funding to cover the costs for your family.

Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew

A child’s voice leads into each chapter, offering a one-of-a-kind exploration into how ten core characteristics of autism affect our children’s perceptions and reactions to the surrounding physical, sensory and social environments. This revised and updated third edition sharpens the focus on these basic aspects while expanding on how our own perspectives shape the life of our child and ourselves, today, tomorrow, and for years to come. An all-new section illuminates the surprising breadth of our power of choice and outlines potent strategies for strong decision-making in every situation.

The Arc

The Arc’s National Convention is an unmatched opportunity to connect and learn with advocates, professionals, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families. If you are interested in employment, education, advocacy, housing, criminal justice, and more – our sessions are sure to challenge, inspire, and motivate!

The Assistive Technology Fund (ATF)

The Assistive Technology Fund (ATF) will provide funds to cover 50% of the retail price of adaptive devices or software. The products covered by this program must retail for a minimum of $200 with a maximum retail price of $6,000. Persons eligible to apply for assistance must have a family income of less than $50,000 and cash assets of less than $20,000. Applications will be reviewed by the Assistive Technology Committee (ATC) and recommendations will be submitted for board approval. If applicants are selected to receive a technology grant, applicants will be asked to provide documents such as tax returns, bank statements and any other documents that the ABC board or its designee would deem necessary to assess financial need for the grant.

The Aubrey Rose Foundation

The Aubrey Rose Foundation provides scholarships for private schooling in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Area.

The Autism Helper Podcast

Welcome to The Autism Helper Podcast, where we explore different strategies to improve the lives of individuals with autism.

The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum

Temple Grandin may be the most famous person with autism, a condition that affects 1 in 88 children. Since her birth in 1947, our understanding of it has undergone a great transformation, leading to more hope than ever before that we may finally learn the causes of and treatments for autism.

Weaving her own experience with remarkable new discoveries, Grandin introduces the advances in neuroimaging and genetic research that link brain science to behavior, even sharing her own brain scan to show which anomalies might explain common symptoms. Most excitingly, she argues that raising and educating kids on the autism spectrum must focus on their long-overlooked strengths to foster their unique contributions.

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity.

The Boy Who Couldn’t Speak, Yet (Jordan’s World)

Jordan was a boy in elementary school who couldn’t speak yet, so he was trapped inside his brain in Jordan’s World. Jordan has Verbal Apraxia, also known as Childhood Apraxia of Speech, a neurological speech disorder. He knows what he wants to say, but his words don’t always come out.

Jordan goes through elementary school not knowing why kids ask him all sorts of questions. He goes to his mom, and his mom is his comforter. The way Jordan is being treated can’t be ignored. So, his mom takes action with the school. Jordan’s mom teaches him and others that being different is okay.