Governor awarded for autism advocacy
by Bob
Well, we had plenty of excitement yesterday with a visit from Jim Doyle — he’s the governor of Wisconsin. He came to our adult day services center in Wauwatosa to receive the National Easter Seals Outstanding Advocate of the Year award. Governor Doyle received the award for his work towards improving access to services and his support in closing institutions and providing funding for community settings.
Denise Rozell, Assistant Vice President of State Government Relations at Easter Seals’ Office of Public Affairs, presented the award. She was impressed by the governor’s passion for Autism services and his support of community options in long term care. The Governor also supports a bill to mandate health coverage for Autism Services in our state – you can read about that in the blog I wrote on health insurance for people with autism.
Yesterday’s ceremony featured the Easter Seals Wil-O-Way Color Guard (made up of participants from our recreation programs) and a talk by an Easter Seals participant who moved from a state institution to a group home. He told us he had recently taken the handcuffs off a stuffed animal he owned because, like the stuffed animal, he felt—free! It was a very emotional moment, and it was a great day to be part of Easter Seals!