MILESTONES ACHIEVEMENT
CENTERS (MAC) PARTNERS WITH AFAA AND AUTISM SPEAKS TO HOST
NATIONAL TOWN
HALL MEETING IN PENNSYLVANIA
-- MAC Monroeville
Opens Registration to Public for Limited Time to Give Western
PA a Voice in National Discussion --
-- Town Hall Participants
will Develop Policy Agenda for Addressing the Needs of Adults with Autism --
MONROEVILLE, PA – October 20, 2009 –
Milestones Achievement Centers (MAC) – the leading provider of programs and
services designed to help improve the lives of children and young adults with
the most serious and/or complex behavioral and educational challenges –
announced today that its Monroeville, PA location will host the Advancing
Futures for Adults with Autism (AFAA) and Autism Speaks’ National Town Hall
meeting, which will be held on Friday, November 13, 2009. MAC is one of
16 locations throughout the U.S.
hosting the one-day event to help bring together key stakeholders to discuss
and set an actionable policy agenda to address the needs of adults with
autism.
With only 50 available seats, MAC is inviting
members of the public to participate in this first-of-its-kind meeting in Western PA. Adults with autism, family members,
community members, employers, service providers, representatives of funding and
support agencies, elected officials or other autism advocates are encouraged to
attend.
“Through our work with children and young
adults with autism, we see a tremendous need to create programs that will help
them live better, more meaningful lives throughout adulthood. Hosting
this National Town Hall Meeting provides a great opportunity for our local Pennsylvania communities
to have a strong voice in the national discussion about autism – shaping future
policies that will impact everyone touched by this issue,” commented Dana
Monroe, vice president/COO of Milestones Achievement Centers (MAC). “We
need policies in place today to meet the immediate needs of adults living with
autism, as well as to help support the next generation.”
This National Town Hall
meeting is a first step in developing a national policy to address the needs of
adults with autism, including employment, residential services, recreation and
safety/transportation. The meeting will be organized from a central Chicago Town Hall hub, with more than 1,000
participants across the country linked via live webcast at satellite
locations. Proposals developed during the course of the day-long session
will be voted on electronically by all participants to develop a focused agenda
for change. This agenda will then be presented at an Autism Congress in Washington, D.C.
in 2010.
“There is a tidal wave of children with
autism who will become adults during the next decade and our society has yet to
address how the need for services, jobs, housing and other opportunities to
lead fulfilling and productive lives will be met,” said Peter Bell, AFAA
co-chair and executive vice president of Autism Speaks. “These aren’t
challenges we can keep putting off. The need for action is real and
urgent, and the Town Hall is a critical step in developing an agenda that can
ultimately be realized through legislation and other means of effecting
change.”
Sponsors of the AFAA and Autism Speaks’
National Town Hall Meeting in Monroeville, PA include: the AFAA, Greater Pittsburgh Autism Speaks
and Milestones Achievement
Centers of America. Additionally,
scholarships for select attendees have been provided by Achieving in Higher
Education with Autism/Developmental Disabilities (AHEADD), Family Behavioral
Resources (FBR) and several anonymous sponsors.
For more information or to register for the Monroeville meeting, please contact Laura Vossen at
724-463-5390 or lvossen@salisb.com.
The registration fee for the event is $100, which is used to help defray the
cost of set up and production of the National Town Hall Meeting, and covers the
costs for equipment, event materials and food and drinks throughout the
day. The meeting will be held at Milestones Achievement Centers, 715 Bilberry Drive, Monroeville, PA 15146.
About Milestones Achievement Centers of
America, Inc (www.macamerica.net)
With nine locations throughout Pennsylvania, Milestones
Achievement Centers of America (MAC) has a mission to help children with the
most serious and/or complex educational and behavioral challenges live
high-quality lives. MAC’s team of educators and therapists understand the
challenges that parents and children face, and provide the necessary programs
and services to enable children to achieve success and overcome personal
obstacles. Within its schools, MAC offers a variety of educational services and
supports, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and
nursing services. In addition, MAC provides behavioral support, including
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA Consulting), which is offered in the school,
outside of school hours or within the home setting.
About AFAA (www.afaa-us.org)
Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism
(AFAA) is a national consortium seeking to create meaningful futures for adults
with autism that include homes, jobs, recreation, friends and supportive
communities. This unique national consortium has united to set
national priorities for adults on the autism spectrum and to transform public
policy and programming for teens and adults with autism spectrum disorders. Throughout
2009, AFAA will collect information, develop strategic solutions and advance
the national agenda.
Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism
science and advocacy organization, and the New York Center
for Autism are the AFAA organization chairs. The AFAA partners are:
Global Communities of Support; Alpine Learning Group; The Autism Program of
Illinois; The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation; Easter Seals; Hallmark Community
Solutions; Organization for Autism Research; Southwest Autism
Research & Resource Center; and the University of Miami-Nova
Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities.
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