The Autism Program

The Autism Program (TAP) was created to provide training to parents with Austism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The program was also established as a way of addressing the complex processes of diagnosis, treatment and research for thousands of children across the state of Illinois. TAP emphasizes that these complex processes must be carried out early on in the child's developmental stages, so as to prepare parents for the responsibilities ahead of them, especially as it pertains to raising their special needs child in a community. The program is an affiliate of the Early Childhood Intervention Clearinghouse, a program designed to connect over 2000 resources that are involved in the care of children with ASD. The Autism Program is in contact with many resources thanks to ECIC, and therefore has a large community base.
I am a huge advocate of programs like TAP, as I am the sibling of a special needs child. Something I would change about TAP is the spectrum of children they cater to. They specialize is children with Austism, and I would open up the program to other forms of special needs. This would, of course, take a large network of resources, but would be worth every cent to create the larger program.