About the Nonprofit
Visit Our Website
Chicago Autism Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families find and afford effective autism therapy and supports. Effective autism therapy can change the life of autistic individuals, and should be available to everyone on the spectrum. Unfortunately, too many families cannot afford the annual cost of intensive therapy (over $90k without insurance, about $8-10k with insurance), leaving their children without the support they need to reach their potential. To help more children get needed therapy, we created the Therapy Assistance Grant Program, which offers financial aid to help families cover out-of-pocket therapy costs and/or insurance premiums. From 2019 to 2021, we awarded over $65,000 to help local families access essential treatment. For 2022, we were able to award over $72,000 to local families, exceeding the total amount we had awarded to date, and exceeding our goal of $65,000 for the year. To date, we have awarded over $140,000, accomplishing the following:
· Enabled 9 children to start autism therapy (in-home, in-clinic & therapeutic day schools)
· Helped 15 children continue receiving services they wouldn’t have been able to afford without assistance,
· Assisted 5 families in paying off medical debts accrued from ABA therapy,
· Helped 4 individuals undergo neuropsychological evaluations necessary for proper autism treatment.
Furthermore, these grants aim to help those in the most underserved communities, as illustrated in the following numbers:
· 88% of our grantees have incomes below the federal poverty line,
· 96% of our grantees are racial minorities (31% Black, 42% Latinx, 23% Asian),
· 69% live in the city of Chicago, with 50% living on the south or west sides.
Without our support, these families would not have been able to access therapy and we are pleased to have been able to help. However, each year, the requests we receive far outweigh our capacity to help, and it is devastating to turn away so many families in need. The current pandemic has created even more difficulty for families trying to access intensive therapy services.
However to further assist families, we also hold free monthly virtual parent workshops, helping parents connect with professionals on a variety of topics. We also hold an annual resource fair to help families more quickly connect with available resources and programs.
