Be A Voice

The phone rings every 10 minutes during our meeting. I encourage Mary Kay to pick it up each time. Mary Kay Betz is the Executive Director of the Autism Society of Illinois (ASI) and the only one in the office at this time. It is likely the caller is a mother or father seeking information or help from Mary Kay and her team at ASI.  My assumption of the caller’s identity is an easy one if you consider the stats that scroll continuously on the ASI website: every 20 minutes, 1 in 88 children, 1 in 54 boys, 1 in 252 girls, 29,000 children in Illinois are diagnosed with Autism. And, while there are a vast number of organizations working to determine autism’s origins and treatments, figuring out strategy, ASI is fighting the fight on the ground.

Mary Kay makes it clear that they are a “boots on the ground” organization. Yes, they provide an abundance of information through their office and website. Yes, they are policy advocates. But, it is clear to me they most relish the opportunity to engage families touched by autism. This commitment is evident as Mary Kay shows me the large file cabinet full of manila file folders each containing the details of a life they are striving to make better. They pursue this mission with a small team of eight and limited resources. When I consider the number of folders, the ringing phones and numerous events promoted on their website, the workload seems endless. Consider their commitment to Special Education Advocacy. They will:

-review current Individualized Education Program (IEP)

-help resolve issues with school districts

-attend all meeting with parents

-help write letters and instruct parent on the proper people to call

-teach parents about IDEIA and FAPE so that they are understanding all that is going during the IEP process

-help with transition from Early Intervention to School

-make sure that goals and benchmarks are made measurable so that we are able to track progress

-help through the mediation process

Thus far, in the two instances I have engaged the autism community, first with Lisa Kelly from Kaitlin’s Hideout and now with Mary Kay, I have been impressed by two moms who have children with autism (two of Mary Kay’s three boys are on the autism spectrum) and their desire to share their experience and learning with families uncertain about what to do. For Mary Kay and ASI, their support, their voice will vary depending on the scenario. While I am certain, they serve as a knowledgeable and comforting voice for families, I am just as certain they have a passionate, aggressive tenor in other circumstances. Our Project is to recognize their efforts and provide them assistance to “Be A Voice.”

http://projectboost.org/causes/be-a-voice-boost-autism-society-of-illinois/