May 20, 2012

As I continued to read through different websites about programs for young adults with Autism, I found one called Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism. As I was reading through the headlines provided in the website, I ran across one that caught my attention. It stated, "The U.S. Department of Labor has made available approximately $20 million in grants to fund cooperative agreements that will improve the educational, training and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities." I found this headline to be exciting and promising. There are so many young adults diagnosed with Autism that graduate from high school, and they themselves and their families don't know what the next step is. And, even if they know the next step, they don't have the funding and, some of the programs don't have the funding, needed to provide their child with whatever he or she needs. The grants are said to be split into ten different grants with funds ranging from $1.5 to $6 million, and will be spent over a 3 year period. Through these generous grants, I hope to see the different recipients use the funds in a wise and positive manner. I would like to see the programs use the money to hire on more employees, therefore, they will be able to take more young adults diagnosed with Autism into their programs.