Local Military Families Benefit from Autism Grant

Editor's note: The following is a news release from ACT Today! (Autism Care and Treatment Today!).

ACT Today! (Autism Care and Treatment Today!), announces Hope 4 Hanna, a fellow non-profit organization, has awarded ACT Today! with an $8,000 contribution. The contribution is allocated to ACT Today!’s special fund called the ACT Today! for Military Families (ATMF). Seven military families with children with autism, who reside in Orange and San Diego counties, will benefit from the contribution.

The Jackson family, one of the seven recipients, received a grant for fencing. “Our son with autism has wandered from two different houses with security measures,” says Nashota, whose husband will be deployed this January for a year of service in Afghanistan. “This fence is much more than metal and mesh to us. This fence could be something that saves our son's life, and provides great peace of mind while our my husband is deployed.”

"Hope 4 Hanna is so happy to be able to financially support grant requests to local military families for whom we are so grateful. We know the challenges that are faced with autism on a normal basis. Military families in addition must face deployment, relocation, and denial of funding. These families have been a high priority for our organization for quite some time,” says Lené Belden, Secretary and Founding Board Member of Hope 4 Hanna, and Hanna's mother.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 110 children in America is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), making ASD more prevalent than juvenile diabetes, pediatric cancer and childhood AIDS combined. It is estimated that autism affects 1 in 88 military children.

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