Rise for Autism

Grants to offer financial assistance to individuals or families of individuals with autism spectrum and related disorders in accessing therapeutic, adaptive camp, respite and safety/medical equipment and communicative devices. A comprehensive Safety Program including a partnership with the Anne Arundel County Police Department to offer Address Flagging for individuals at risk for wandering and elopement, an annual safety fair for individuals with special needs and their families offering a wealth of resources and information to promote safety and well-being, and "BE SAFE The Movie" trainings in which individuals with special needs are trained alongside emergency responders on how to interact safely in emergency and crisis situations. Workshops and conferences are offered throughout the year to self-advocates, and families, caregivers, educators, and related service professionals of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to improve understanding, awareness, and therapeutic service delivery. Sensory Friendly family events are offered on a quarterly basis to individuals with ASD and their families to promote access to and participation in community events which are designed to be sensitive to the needs of individuals with ASDs while including the entire family. Awareness programs are offered through Autism Awareness Month (April) through our youth support programs and PALS program, in which education is provided to typically developing peers on how to promote friendships and decrease bullying of individuals with ASD.

Applied Behavior Analysis is empirically based procedures such as prompt fading, reinforcement, behavioral momemtum, shaping, chaining, etc. We are able to increase desired behaviors and decrease problem behaviors. An individualized ABA program allows participants to systematically work on the essential skills of becoming an independent adult including: communication (social, pragmatic, self-advocacy), safety (personal, internet), activities of daily living (meal prep, chores, hygiene), and so much more. ABA is also highly effective when utilized during group social skills instruction; using the same teaching procedures we can build a variety of social interaction skills (negotiation, joining in, working collaboratively, developing and maintaining relationships, social cognition, etc). Our group therapy/social skills groups provides the opportunity to learn and practice social skills to help clients gain communication and other skills needed to navigate a full range of social situations and become more socially competent. The objective of the group session is to learn to actively interact with peers to gain new information, share a common focus and express ideas to engage in meaningful interactions and develop relationships. The focus of the group on three key important areas including coping with stress and anxiety, social skills and communication, and self-advocacy.