Parents from across Kansas met on the Heartspring campus December 4 as the CARE (Community of Autism Resources and Education) Program at Heartspring hosted its inaugural event, the International Café – Exploring the “World of Autism”. Using the results and recommendations of a survey sent to parents along with the feedback from parents that night, CARE Program organizer and Heartspring’s director of CARE and autism outreach, Connie Coulter, says she has a fairly comprehensive idea of what resources parents are needing.

“We're headed in the right direction,” she said. “And I think parents will be pleased with the opportunities developed over the next few weeks, months, and years.”

Some of those resources will include monthly parent workshops, Make It Take It sessions, an autism summer camp, an Asperger summer technology camp, an online parent blog so parents can connect with each other in a supportive and collaborative manner, as well as a bank of resources that can be easily accessed by parents locally, and abroad. As programs develop, parents will continue to be offered opportunities to increase their ability to understand, advocate, and support their child from diagnosis through adult-hood.