Parents form nonprofit to share autism resources
Three moms living in the Butler County area could not find a reliable database in the area of resources that help serve children with autism and their families, so they created one themselves.
“Growing Together: The Friendship Factory” is the result of their collaboration, and now, about half-a-year in, the moms are looking to spread the word about the nonprofit to as many people in the county as possible.
Christin Saumure, the organization’s founder and president, and Laura Oliverio, its treasurer, spoke Wednesday, Oct. 1, at a Community Voices session organized by Slippery Rock University. During the session at the Butler Area Public Library, Oliverio said the group is attempting to be the piece she and Saumure felt was missing when they moved to the southern area of the county. She said that a recent resource fair the nonprofit hosted at the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA opened her eyes to what is out there for autism support.
“I have lived here for 11 years I’ve never heard of maybe a-third of the vendors that came to this, so that was incredible to me,” Oliverio said. “No one is knocking at your door saying ‘Hey, did you hear about this for your child?’ You just have to seek that out — and a lot of parents of kids with special needs don’t have the time, maybe the resources or the connections to find that out.
“That’s a huge goal of ours.”
Josette Skobieranda Dau, associate director of community impact and partnerships at SRU, organizes the Voices sessions about once a month to help connect agency personnel with one another. She invites people from other nonprofits and community-focused groups to each session, in order to create a network of support that helps people know where to go for any situation.
“We want to make sure you are getting your questions answered,” Skobieranda Dau said of the session on Growing Together.
And although Growing Together only started in March and became a certified nonprofit in May, everyone in the crowd of about 10 people had questions about the group and how they could help support it.
This is part of Growing Together’s mission, and why Saumure said the organization is not striving to have a physical office any time soon. The group is using word-of-mouth to promote its mission, and Saumure said this could also help people with autism and their families feel less pressure about seeking aid.
“We want to create these opportunities in our community. If we have a brick-and-mortar building, it brings them over here,” Saumure said. “We want everyone involved everywhere — bringing more understanding, more awareness and, hopefully, more acceptance for everyone.”
Saumure and Oliverio each said at the session that they have children with autism — Saumure has a 10-year-old son with high-support needs, and Oliverio has a 13-year-old daughter with some support needs. Saumure said Growing Together’s co-founder and secretary, Ashley Veres, also has a child with special needs.
According to Saumure, the organization is focused on providing support to children ages 5 to 13, but that is not a strict demographic, and she has already heard other parents ask if they could help find support for their children who are up to age 20. Oliverio pointed out as well that the activities Growing Together has had so far have no requirements of the children — no proof of a diagnosis or age.
Growing Together has an upcoming event in its Friendship Fall Festival, which will take place Nov. 2 at Glade Run Lutheran Services. Saumure said the festival will be a sensory-friendly event, which adds to the number of this type of event in Butler County.
“We see a lot of sensory-friendly events, but not enough,” she said.
Growing Together is also turning its focus to other family members of children with autism, because Saumure and Oliverio said autism-support events and groups are typically populated with moms. Through their own experience, however, they have found that their husbands have wanted to be more involved in attending events that support their children.
“There’s really nothing for them, and that’s really disheartening,” Oliverio said. “I think the dads are more willing to go to events when their wives are with them.”
Growing Together is also fundraising and gathering donations to help support inclusive events in public spaces and businesses. The nonprofit also has an Amazon wish list, which mainly consists of fidget toys and items.
“That’s actually where we have had the most success,” Saumure said of the group’s Amazon wish list.
Saumure said Growing Together’s Facebook page currently is the best way to stay connected with the group and keep track of its upcoming events and happenings. There are 250 families connected to Growing Together through online sources, she said.
Aside from Skobieranda Dau and the representatives of Growing Together, the Community Voices session also was attended by other nonprofit leaders, as well as staff members from the Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School.
Blake Beatrice, vo-tech workforce development coordinator, said he sees potential for collaboration between the school and Growing Together.
According to Beatrice, 30% to 40% of students at the school have some kind of individualized education plan. He said the school is having a career fair-style event in November, which is normally attended by students and their parents and would be a good opportunity for Growing Together: The Friendship Factory to table.
“We have plenty of parents who don’t have a clue about the resources available to them,” Beatrice said.
The staffers of Growing Together also are considering other initiatives, like a Buddies program that would pair children with autism with older mentors, and a parent support group. These initiatives, Saumure said, would help create a sense of belonging — not only in children with autism, but their families, who may otherwise feel isolated. She also said the organization is looking for more parents to collaborate with the organization, to further elaborate on what is needed for autism support in the county.
“That’s why we need to diversify,” Saumure said. “That’s why we need to have parent voices, to help with this all.”
For more information on Growing Together: The Friendship Factory, visit its website at friendshipfactorypa.org.
