June 2014 - Navigating Autism

Autism could cost millions per person

December 1, 2014June 10, 2014 by Andy Areffi

Autism costs could run into the millions for each and every child diagnosed. When you multiply that by the hundreds of thousands of kids diagnosed per year you are talking hundreds of billions of dollars mostly paid by the tax payers. We need to put as many kids on the path to becoming tax payers with … Read more

Google | Autism Speaks

June 10, 2014 by Andy Areffi

If you haven’t heard. Google is taking active steps to change the way people look at #autism. Way to go Google. http://www.autismspeaks.org/site-wide/google Autism Speaks is dedicated to increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders, to funding research into the causes, prevention and treatments for autism, and to advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and … Read more

About the Areffis

The Areffis are the parents of three children with autism – Kennedy, age 10, Alex, age 9, and Bella, age 7. They wrote “Navigating Autism” because they were not able to find a book to guide them when Kennedy was diagnosed with autism in 2005. They were still struggling to get the assistance she needed when Alex was diagnosed on the spectrum in 2006 and Bella in 2008. They work tirelessly to support parents of autistic children, “We want to help as many people as possible,” says Melissa. “With early intervention, these kids can go on to become anything, and not dependent on disability services their entire lives. As parents, we want our kids to have a shot at happiness, and a ‘normal’ life. We figured we didn’t have any right to complain about how things are unless we did something about it to help.”