The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Florida has a statewide system of seven autism service centers called the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities or CARD. All centers share a common mission and provide an array of free services for families, schools, and community organizations. CARD is funded by the Florida Legislature through the Florida Department of Education. This session will provide an overview of CARD and offer suggestions that ASD advocates/parents may wish to use to establish a similar system in their state. In this session we will offer an overview of the Florida Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) program. We will describe the mission and services provided, describe how the system was established and how it has evolved. Next, we will describe how the centers work collaboratively with a Constituency Board made up of family members of persons with autism and with the Florida Department of Education and local school districts. Then we will discuss the key factors that seem to be at the heart of the programs' statewide success and offer suggestions that could help autism advocates/parents in other states, especially those states lacking a resource such as CARD, to establish a cost-effective, best-practices driven, statewide autism services system. Florida is the home to many persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders. With over 18 million people, Florida is the fourth largest state in the nation and growing rapidly. Fortunately for persons with autism and related disabilities, Florida has a statewide system consisting of seven autism service centers called the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities or CARD serving over 13,000 persons with autism and their families. CARD's mission is to provide support and assistance with the goal of optimizing the potential of people with autism, dual sensory impairment, and related disabilities. These centers provide an array of nonresidential supports including information about autism, referral to service providers, assistance with long and short term planning, workshops for parents and teachers, and support groups. Individual and direct family assistance is providing in the home, community and school. In addition CARD staff provide assistance to schools, both public and private, helping with teacher training, challenging behavior, and promoting academic achievement on the part of students with autism. CARD staff members are active as initiators and team members in community efforts to promote better outcomes for persons with autism. These efforts vary based on community needs and may take the form of creating new transition options for secondary students with autism, or initiating an electronic tracking system for children with autism who wander or a focus on school aftercare options. CARD teams with organizations such as the state and local chapters of the Autism Society of America and Autism Speaks on a number of awareness, advocacy and service efforts. Each year, a three-day statewide conference is held. Last year over 700 people attended. All seven centers cooperate to make this conference important for families and professionals. The centers have, since the inception of the program, been based at universities. Presently, there are centers at the University of South Florida, in Tampa, University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida State University in Tallahassee, University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University, Miami, University of Florida College of Medicine -Jacksonville, University of Central Florida in Orlando and Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Several of the centers serve an especially large or populous region. In these cases, regional offices are used. The Florida State University, for example, covers the long stretch of the Florida Panhandle with offices in both Pensacola and Panama City. University faculty directs the program under the state program requirements. The accomplishments of each center are too numerous to list here but will be highlighted in the presentation along with a brief analysis of the synergies realized at each university as their autism and disability support efforts are strengthened by hosting a CARD program. Each center works collaboratively with a Constituency Board that consists of at least six members each of whom is either an individual with an Autism Spectrum Disability or a member of a family that has a person with such a disability. The Constituency Board meets quarterly with center staff to provide advice and offer support. In addition, center staff meets regularly with school district autism leaders to plan trainings, share priorities and explore new directions. CARD continues to grow. Legislative allocations, while not lavish, have allowed for expansion within the initial centers and the addition of three independent regional centers. Parents have been in the forefront in expressing their support for CARD to the Florida Legislature. The legislature has, in turn, recognized the value of the specialized services that CARD is able to provide. The close partnership with families and the communities seems to be at the heart of this process. It stems from the conviction, shared by staff at each CARD center that people with disabilities are members of families and that each family has strengths and capacities and are integral members of a person's system of support. Additionally there is a shared belief that people with autism and related disabilities have the right to be regarded as individuals who need services and supports that are based on their unique characteristics. We conclude the presentation with suggestions for how parents of persons with autism and other advocates might begin to collaboratively plan for a statewide system of specialized autism services similar to CARD in their state.

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