Adults have autism too: World Autism Awareness Day

Posted by Patricia Wright on April 2nd, 2009

Today is World Autism Awareness Day, and that gives me a chance to let you know about the autism services and treatments Easter Seals makes available to families living with autism. A number of wonderful organizations research and study the cause and cure for autism — Easter Seals stands out as the nation’s leading provider of services and support …Read More » »

Accessing stimulus funding if you’re not on public aid

Posted by Katy Beh Neas on March 12th, 2009

A comment to our post called The stimulus plan: what’s in it for people with autism? prompted me to write more on this issue, because it’s an impoirtant one. The person who commented asked whether parents can access economic recovery funds if their children do not receive Medicaid or Social Security benefits.

The details of how states are going to …Read More » »

Third time’s the charm: Extreme Makeover this Sunday

Posted by Beth Finke on March 5th, 2009

Remember our blog post last March about the Extreme Home Makeover show? Back then, actress Marlee Matlin had appeared on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to present a $50,000 college scholarship to Stefan Vardon. Stefan’s parents are both deaf and his younger brother has autism. Matlin is an amazing advocate for people with disabilities and is …Read More » »

What can we do? How Easter Seals North Texas responded to budget cut threat

Posted by Jennifer Friesen on February 25th, 2009

Easter Seals North Texas has an Autism Treatment Program (ATP) that is primarily funded through a $1.25 million grant contract with the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS).

In 2008, we, along with three other service providers in Texas, received the funding to provide applied behavioral analysis (ABA) services to children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). …Read More » »

The stimulus plan: what’s in it for people with autism?

Posted by Beth Finke on February 23rd, 2009

Here’s an understatement for you: that stimulus package President Obama signed into law last week is huge. It’s a bit daunting, too. To help sort through all the changes, the Disability Policy Collaboration (The Arc of the United States, combined with United Cerebral Palsy) lists the amount of increased spending disability specific programs will receive from the time the …Read More » »

Autism bill likely to pass in Wisconsin

Posted by Bob Glowacki on February 12th, 2009

I’m so excited to share news from the great state of Wisconsin! We have a governor and legislature that will vote to cover autism through health insurance — it’s one of the first action items of the new legislature. The passage of this bill means that the current waiting list for autism treatment can be cut by one third. …Read More » »

Thanks for saving our SCHIP

Posted by Beth Finke on February 10th, 2009

On February 4, 2009, the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was signed into law by President Barack Obama. Your advocacy and on-going support now make health insurance coverage possible for 11 million uninsured children from low-income working families, including children with autism and other disabilities. …Read More » »

Help kids with autism and other disabilities get health care coverage

Posted by Katy Beh Neas on January 13th, 2009

Wow — it’s busy in Washington these days. The House and Senate are preparing legislation to extend the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and hope to have a final bill to present to President Obama this month.

SCHIP is a program that provides health insurance to children …Read More » »

Living with Autism Study in the news!

Posted by Beth Finke on December 18th, 2008

It’s no surprise that the Easter Seals Living with Autism Study has been getting a lot of media attention since Tuesday, when we revealed the results. After all, autism now affects more than 1.5 million Americans and their families, and the study results paint a startling picture of the life-long fears, anxieties and critical supports needed to raise a …Read More » »

Maurice + Ozzie Guillen = a good team for autism services

Posted by Maurice Snell on November 24th, 2008

This past weekend was another annual holiday gala for Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago. More importantly, it marked another beginning of Easter Seals and what future lies ahead. Many people showed up to support many different services Easter Seals has to offer through the Chicago area, …Read More » »