Hi, my name is Dr. Audrey Todd, and I am a clinical psychologist in Columbus. I also have a five year old son named Liam who is diagnosed with autism.
Autism is a complicated neurological disease of which there is no known cure. The disease profoundly impacts social interaction, language development, and communication. Autism affects many parts of the brain; how this occurs is not understood. Although early behavioral or cognitive intervention can help children gain self-care, social, and communication skills, few children with autism develop to become independent adults.
We first noticed signs of autism in our son at around the age of 18 months of age, when he stopped pointing to share items with us, stopped smiling for pictures, stopped being able to catch a ball, and began severely restricting the foods that he would eat. To this day, at five years of age, it is profoundly difficult for him to utter a simple word such as “more.” Since that time, we have discovered that everything has to be taught to him and that nothing comes naturally. As we continued to consider how unlikely it is that our son will be able to work and live independently, we started a non-profit company entitled Food for Good Thought, Inc., which is a gluten-free bakery and meal assembly service dedicated to providing vocational training and supported employment to individuals with autism. Many individuals on the autism spectrum also experience digestive problems that need to be managed by eating foods free of wheat (or gluten).
I’d like to share with you now some statistics on the prevalence and prognosis of autism as a way of underscoring the importance of providing individuals with autism a fair chance in life to work and to live independently.
Did you know that 1 out of ever 150 children is now diagnosed with autism? More than 1 million Americans are diagnosed with autism.
Did you know that only 6% of adults with autism are independently employed, and that only 8% of adults with ASD are living independently? If adults with autism are not living with their parents, they are often living in group homes. It costs up to $75,000 per year to give an adult with ASD housing a group home.
With the rates of autism soaring and the sobering prognosis for the future of individuals with autism, it is important to prepare individuals on the autism spectrum for employment. Tasks that individuals on the autism spectrum trained and employed by us include baking, taking orders, answering phone calls, recycling, cleaning up, and preparation meal assembly stations.
Food for Good Thought would greatly appreciate your tax-deductible donation to our company so that we can continue to give autistic individuals a chance in life.
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