By Barbara Gobbi
It’s been four years since our son Jack, 7 1/2, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It took 2 years to get confirmation of what my husband and I already knew. At that time autism was so ambiguous that even our pediatrician couldn’t pick up on the subtle signs in a brief annual exam. His explanation for his behavior was that Jack was a boy. We knew that Jack was different from our three girls, so we did our homework by studying every quirky act, his lack of language, his outbursts and meltdowns and his obsessions with order and routine. It was more than a gender difference.
After switching pediatricians, we received validation of our concerns within only a few minutes. Today, 1 of 88 children are diagnosed with autism and Jack is one of them.
My husband and I know the ropes when it comes to raising typical children. There are daycare centers on every corner, sports programs, and routine activities like shopping and haircuts that are a breeze with our girls. But we had to look carefully to find programs and businesses that are accommodating and welcome a child with autism.
After a four year learning curve, our family realizes that we live in a community that has embraced children with special needs. After sharing tips and resources with other parents, my husband and I knew we had to create a website for parents to discover and share their favorite autism-friendly businesses. Here are some of our favorites:
Parkland Buddy Sports offers well-structured sports programs to children with special needs and enlists the help of over 200 young adult volunteers, called Buddies.
Surfers For Autism – Launched in 2007 in Deerfield Beach, Surfers for Autism strives to eliminate the stigma of autism through public awareness and volunteerism and introduces the world of surfing to children with autism.
Rising Tide Car Wash – Located at 7201 N. State Road 7 in Parkland, Rising Tide employs adults with autism and provides top-notch car washes. They are open 7 days a week from 8am – 6pm.
Abi’s Place – A non-profit school in Coral Springs to nourish children with autism and other special needs.
www.ShineOnAutism.com – This online directory of Autism-friendly local businesses is created by parents, for parents of children with autism.
Today Jack is a happy, loving and artistic little boy and we wouldn’t change one thing about him. To us he isn’t 1 in 88. He’s 1 in a million.
