Autism doesn't just affect the person who has the diagnosis, it impacts the entire community. Project Hope Foundation provides service to improve the quality of family life by offering opportunities to develop plans, connect with resources, and gain training. Additionally, we speak to community groups to help build awareness, create a supportive environment, and produce autism advocates. We even have a 7-minute video to educate the community on how to support these families.

Training

At Project Hope Foundation, we believe that quality training empowers people Using the same Applied Behavior Analysis principles that guide our therapeutic and education models, we present training that goes above-and-beyond bare essentials. Scroll down to see the autism-related trainings for a variety of targeted audiences.

 Thanks to generous funding from Greenwood Women Care, we were able to provide intensive training for 14 Greenwood School District teachers, enabling them to use the best evidence-based strategies to work effectively with their students with autism. This investment is already transforming classrooms. If your school is interested in receiving autism-specific training, please email us.

Community Awareness Training

Autism is now a community issue, based on both its prevalence and economic impact.

Prevalence:
The rate of autism is now an astounding 1 in 36 children. At this point, almost everyone has a family member or friend who is touched by autism.

The need for intervention is critical – the earlier, the better. Unfortunately, the average age of diagnosis is 4-years-old, meaning that we are missing valuable time.

Economic Impact:
Without effective interventions, most individuals on the spectrum will require some form of lifelong support, currently estimated at $2.4 million per person.

As individuals with autism age out of school programs, their parents must often leave their own careers to become caregivers.

Individuals with autism have a normal life expectancy; they will outlive their parents. For most, the long-term cost of care will fall to the community.

Awareness:
At Project Hope Foundation, we have speakers available to present information of a wide variety of topics, including:
· Symptoms of autism
· Effective intervention through Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy
· Educational models for students with autism
· Strategies for successful inclusion of children with autism
· Strategies to support families living with autism
· Community integration of individuals with autism

We welcome the opportunity to speak to your civic, faith-based, or community group. We also provide training and information for childcare providers and educators.

 Autism 1-2-3-4-5 Community Awareness Video

1 fact, 2 criteria, 3 points, 4 tips, and 5 strategies - all in under 7 minutes - to help you support the autism community! Thank you to the Greenwood County Community Foundation for making this video possible!

Hope Link Helps Families

Hope Link is a program of Project Hope Foundation designed to help families deal with the challenges of autism by providing information about autism spectrum disorders, including symptoms, therapies, interventions, services, funding options, and coping skills.  Since 1997, Project Hope Foundation has providing  hands-on attention to thousands of family members.

Hope Link helps families become empowered as they:

• Learn about the general principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), observe sessions of ABA, and gain information about the funding possibilities for ABA

• Observe inclusion-based classrooms in which children with autism are successfully learning side-by-side with typical classmates

• Access local support resources and services

• Discuss dietary interventions and actually go shopping with someone knowledgeable about implementing these diets

• Spend time with experienced parents and professionals in developing strategies for real life issues

           
Hope Link has released a DVD, Understanding Autism: A Resource for Families, Pediatricians, and Caregivers, to broaden the scope of its services. The DVD can be purchased through our online store.

Understanding Autism is divided into four segments: 

Parent Training

Project Hope Foundation wants to equip families to interact effectively with their children with autism. We know that we serve best when we partner with parents, who are living with autism 24/7.

• Parents receive specific training at the start of an ABA therapy program.

• We offer SafetyCare for Families training to aid in Crisis Management.  

• As part of our Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy programs, we conduct monthly meetings with each individual family and therapy team. During those sessions, we work together to set goals and to adjust implementation of the therapy program to maximize success. We also spend time demonstrating and teaching techniques to maximize the child’s progress.

• We provide periodic group parent training on topics that impact many families living with autism. 

Crisis Management Training

Individuals with autism have difficulty in communication and social interaction. Not surprisingly, challenging behavior often arises.

Project Hope Foundation offers our employees an opportunity to learn the Safety-Care™ crisis management system. Safety-Care™ emphasizes prevention over management. This system utilizes respectful, humane, and non-coercive interventions for responding to challenging behavior.

Project Hope Foundation also offers Safety-Care for Families™ as a means of teaching caregivers to prevent and respond to challenging behavior.

Resources for South Carolina

• Family Connections of South Carolina
  http://www.familyconnectionsc.org/

• The South Carolina Autism Society
  http://www.scautism.org/

• The South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN)
  http://www.ddsn.sc.gov/

 National Resources

• The Autism Research Institute (ARI)
  http://www.autism.com

• The Autism Society
  http://www.autism-society.org

• Autism Speaks
  http://www.autismspeaks.org

• National Autism Association
  http://www.nationalautismassociation.org