My job has great benefits!
by Patricia
Last month I attended the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) conference to talk about Easter Seals and the work we do with people who have autism. OCALI uses leadership, training, professional development, technical assistance, collaboration and technology to build state and system-wide capacity and improve outcomes for individuals with autism and low-incidence disabilities. What a great fit for the work of Easter Seals — we’ve been partnering with OCALI for years.
My job involves lots of opportunities to meet people and engage with the greater autism community. I was in the OCALI conference hall when I was approached by a student named Robin who needed to spend time with a non-profit as part of her university course requirements. As an educator I was delighted to be able to support her educational efforts. Robin joined my colleague Lynn and me at our table and was quick to share that she had a direct connection to Easter Seals: she had received speech therapy services at an Easter Seals in the early 1970’s!
Robin had strong memories of being a young child and receiving therapy at an Easter Seals in her hometown in Ohio. She even had her original report from the therapy — someone had come across the documentation while cleaning out old files and they contacted her mother. I’d say that is one of the benefits of living in a small town!
It is so much fun when people share their personal stories about Easter Seals. Meeting people served by Easter Seals, and seeing the positive outcomes is a wonderful bonus of my job.