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About the Autism Help Network
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What is the Autism Help Network?
The Autism Help Network supports parents and educators of children with autism in your community with recommendations and resources from other parents, teachers and professionals. Local websites, public school blogs, tested professionals and neighborhood news and events are all part of the AHN experience.
The Problem:
“Your child has autism.” With these words, parents and loved ones of a precious child embark on an often-bewildering journey fraught with questions and confusion.
How did this happen? Where can I go for help? What will the future hold? Who can help my child?
Early intervention is critical, and the pressure is on parents to begin NOW. But how? Where? With whom?
The Solution:
Draw on the experience and expertise of trusted individuals in your community--your friends and neighbors who are living with autism.
Key Benefits
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It’s Relevant. Intervention and education happen on the community level. Public school resources vary from district to district. Daily therapy demands local providers. AHN brings your autism community together to share information on providers, teachers and therapists for the benefit of everyone.
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It’s Supportive. Raising a child with autism is almost unimaginably stressful. Siblings suffer. Marriages dissolve. Children become isolated. Parents of children with autism in your community understand the difficulties you face. And their own journeys have made them invaluable sources of advice and solace for a family just starting out.
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It’s Convenient. 24/7 access to the AHN website means that you can seek guidance and information whenever it’s convenient for you. Built around an innovative search feature that consolidates multiple sources—including local “word of mouth” recommendations—stressed-out parents can find what they need quickly.
Meet the Parents:
Doug and Beth Meeker, founders of Autism Help Network, are the parents of a child with autism. When their son was diagnosed in 2004, they turned to the Web for information on how to help him. What they found was a collection of conflicting, confusing and often-irrelevant information with little or no information on local resources. In 2006, they set out to collaborate in their community to ease the journeys of other parents confronting autism for the first time by creating the Autism Help Network.
Leveraging Doug’s background as a former VP at AOL, with 10 years of experience in building and managing locally-oriented web properties (including Digital City, Local Search and Yellow Pages), the goal of AHN is to create an unsurpassed, locally-relevant body of knowledge accessible to everyone. Using cutting edge technology developed by iBelong Networks, a leader in creating community networks, AHN plans to roll out thousands of local community sites over the next 12-18 months.
AHN is free for members; costs will be covered by online advertising from autism-related vendors, with a focus on connecting local service providers with their local audience. In addition, AHN intends to create a foundation to earmark a portion of AHN’s proceeds for autism-related initiatives within each AHN community.
If you would like to provide feedback or are interested in advertising, please
contact us
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