If your child has recently been diagnosed with autism, you are not alone. You are now part of a community of people who understand and can support you. Remember, we can never know the potential of any human being, and people with autism are no different. Autism is not tragic. It is unexpected, challenging, unique and amazing.
Below are suggestions on where to start to find help and information.
Need to Know More About Autism?
Take a look at our Autism 101 page. It provides information on autism and a link to an Autism 101 class provided by the Autism Society of America.
Find a Support Group
A great place to start is a support group. You can meet others who understand your situation, get helpful information and possibly make a few friends. There are also support groups for kids on the spectrum where they discuss living with autism and navigating growing up on the spectrum. The Autism Society of Boulder County has several support groups for parents of people of all ages and teens on the spectrum. Click Here for ASBC support groups.
Check Out A Few Helpful Local Organizations and Programs
Imagine! is a private, not-for-profit community-centered board (CCB) in Colorado. A CCB is a local area’s single point of entry into local, state, and federally funded programs for people with developmental disabilities in a community. Imagine! is currently one of 20 CCBs in Colorado. Imagine! provides services designed to incorporate people with developmental, cognitive, and physical challenges into the fabric of their communities. Services include educational and therapeutic services, job training and placement, recreation and leisure activities, opportunities for community living, behavioral health services, technology solutions, and support for families.
Imagine! Autism Spectrum Disorder Program
Imagine!’s Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Program was created in 2004 in cooperation with the Autism Society of Boulder County. The purpose of this program is to provide services to address the challenges of local children who have an Autism Spectrum Disorder but do not qualify for Colorado state funded waiver services.
This program is unique in the state of Colorado, and only serves individuals living in Boulder and Broomfield counties. The program serves children aged 5-26, and offers support for a single three-year period.
If you would like to know if your family member is eligible for this program, contact the intake department at 720-274-5452.
Association for Community Living (ACL)
The mission of the ACL is, “The Association for Community Living promotes attitudes, practices, programs, and policies that enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be included as a natural and integral part of community life.” They provide advocacy, training and support.
Find Service Providers
You might need professional experts to help you or your child with specific things, like speech or sensory issues or counseling. If you do ASBC has a service provider directory. We do not endorse service providers as we know each person is different and if a provider does good work, families will go to them. To be on our list, providers may not advertise that they know the cause of or a cure for autism. They are removed if they are being investigated for abuse or inappropriate practices. We do the best we can to keep current on providers and are always open to feedback if you have information. Please check our Service Directory page here to discover providers. Click Here for the ASBC Resource Directory
Find Something Fun to Do
ASBC provides lots of fun events for families to do, from recreation to volunteering to learning to ride a bike or swim. Please check out our Recreation and Events Page for more information on what we offer. Or you can check our Newsletter here to see what the community has going! There is a lot to do and you may make a few friends.