February’s Empowerment Coalition of Milwaukee (ECOM) workshop brought together social service professionals to discuss programs and services that support individuals with autism as well as parents and family members of individuals living with a disability.
We were fortunate to have presenters from Children’s Wisconsin’s Center for Child Development and Parent to Parent program, Autism United, Goodwill–Greater Milwaukee and Chicago’s Disability Services, and Children’s Resource Center–Southeast.
Alexandria Robers, Ph.D., from Children’s Wisconsin’s Center for Child Development presented information about the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which indicates that roughly 1 in 31 eight-year-old children are diagnosed with ASD, a number that has increased over the past 10 years. Dr. Robers stated that the standard systems of education and care could be improved to address the needs of people with autism.
Christine Wittwer, Project Manager at the Children’s Resource Center, spoke on the various programs it offers to support individuals with autism and other disabilities from birth to 21 years old, without needing an official diagnosis. Support includes advocacy, tips on communicating with schools, connecting families to community providers, and Children’s Long-Term Support (CLTS).
Julie Quigley, Executive Director of Autism United of Wisconsin, explained the importance of providing multilingual resources to people impacted by autism. Resources include the organization’s comprehensive Resource Directory, as well as parent support groups, teen hangouts, and community events. Autism United is dedicated to getting children to be the best version of themselves.
Michael Alexander, Employment and Training Services Manager at Goodwill–Greater Milwaukee and Chicago, highlighted programs and services for individuals with disabilities to enter the workforce and enhance their employability, stating that 25% of individuals who identify having a disability are in the workforce. Alexander discussed other programs offered by Goodwill, including their Temporary Work Experience and Community Access programs.
The final presenters of the day were Irma Otero, Program Coordinator, and Brooke Small, Project Coordinator with Parent to Parent of Children’s Wisconsin. Parent to Parent focuses on connecting parents of children with a disabilities to each other, highlighting the need for peer emotional support to help increase parents’ acceptance of their situations and their sense of being able to cope. Some of the Parent to Parent matches are short-term, while others become lasting friendships.
This ECOM workshop highlighted the importance of sharing information and resources with one another. It also affirmed that there are people who care deeply about improving the ways we understand autism and providing services that allow children and adults with disabilities to not only survive in society, but thrive.
