Parent Group Supports Summer Institute Attendance
This year, the Autism Education Fund began fundraising early, soliciting donations for a community yard sale and selling prize calendars for $5 each. Group members visited local baseball games and senior citizen bingo events to raise awareness and funds. One mother even sold calendars to her customers in a Portsmouth, NH bar. The community responded above and beyond any of the group’s initial expectations, contributing enough money to allow 10 new professionals to attend the Autism Summer Institute on August 10-13, 2009. Bobbie Stormann—a first-year teacher, a parent of two children on the autism spectrum, and one of the parents instrumental in this year’s fundraising efforts—heard of the benefits of attending the Autism Summer Institute. “When I was substitute teaching in Farmington this past year, I talked to a teacher who participated in the 2008 Summer Institute,” said Stormann. “Because of strategies that she learned, she was able to advocate for her student. That was great to hear as a parent. Raising the money was definitely worth it.” Stormann attended her first Autism Summer Institute this year. Above all, Stormann thinks that promoting understanding will help teachers to work more effectively with students with autism. “School is very stressful for all kids, especially those with autism. Making school a welcoming and accepting place is important, and every strategy that a teacher has will help all students.” Interested parents and community members are invited to attend Autism Education Fund meetings on the third Tuesday of every month at 6pm at the Farmington Rec. For more information on the Autism Summer Institute, visit www.iod.unh.edu. |
Before the IOD’s annual Autism Summer Institute last August, the Autism Education Fund, a group of parents in Farmington, NH, raised enough money to help five professionals from the Farmington school district attend the Summer Institute for free.