Eleven years of helping families find a new normal….

It’s hard to remember life before the Hope Center 4 Autism. It often feels like Hope Center for Autism has filled almost every waking moment of my life for the past eleven years. I tell people we have three children, Lindsey, our firstborn, Adrienne, our second, and then “Hope” the perpetual toddler that keeps us on the move day in and day out. It keeps up some nights and the worry never stops. Hope is on our mind at all times. But we are blessed.

We are blessed to do something so amazing every day! We love our jobs, we love our staff and we love the families we serve.

Eleven years. Many families. Many stories. To each of you that have been part of the past eleven years, thank you. Thank you for this honor. Amazing things have happened in these eleven years. Many non-verbal clients have begun to speak. Hundreds (it seems like thousands) have been potty trained. Families have found their new normal and are living their lives again.

Let’s look forward to the coming year. One month, one day at a time. One success, one goal mastered, one word spoken. Take it all in stride.

Thank you all of you who have walked with us.

To Nadia and Lindsey who help found HC4A and have worked tirelessly since day one to ensure the high-quality therapy every day.

To each and every family who has ever honored us by allowing us time with your child.

I say it often, I am so blessed. Most people live their entire life looking for their calling, but not me. I know why I’m here.
Today I cried with a mom, she said that today she can now begin to understand her son. Her son’s desire is to be like everyone else. Then there’s another mom crying because her son needs more therapy but the funding is not there. And there’s a third client who threw the kids ball over the fence because they wouldn’t play with him. Pretty normal kids stuff at times and then sad and maddening at times too.
Then the hardest one today, a new mom asked me some heartbreaking questions, “How much therapy does he need to make the autism go away? We can just get the right amount of therapy and he will be normal right? We do what the Dr says and it will be gone, right?”
With tears in my eyes, I had to explain to this sweet woman that it doesn’t work like that. This is a very hard thing to explain. She cried.

Eleven years of walking beside families as they begin the journey to try to heal and find a new normal

Susan Wood
Executive Director/Co-founder