News

Lindsay Palson’s journey to an autism diagnosis happened a little later in life compared to many of her peers in SARRC’s Employment Services program. The Mesa woman already had eight years of U.S. Air Force service under her belt, as well as several college courses, yet she struggled with a constant lingering feeling that something in her life just wasn’t clicking.

“I remember a few years ago someone mentioning to me about displaying something that was an autistic trait. They quickly brushed it off, saying ‘oh no, someone would have caught that by now,’” Palson recalls.

Olivia was diagnosed with autism when she was 9 years old. Her mother suspected Olivia may have autism before her actual diagnosis, but her pediatrician said she was” too social” to have autism. Although Olivia may have been social, she struggled with back-and-forth conversations with others. Most of the phrases she used in conversation stemmed from the phrases she heard in her favorite movies and television shows. 

In 2019, the family moved to Arizona largely because Olivia’s mother, Kim, heard about the programs and services available at SARRC.

Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) held its 23rd Annual Community Breakfast on Thursday, April 29! The 45-minute event featured personal stories from families, clients, and community leaders.

SARRC recently announced the promotions of Drs. Amy Kenzer and Christopher J. Smith to Chief Operating Officer and Chief Science Officer, respectively—transitions that will support SARRC's Strategic Plan of becoming a statewide organization that puts effective services within reach of every Arizonan by 2030.

SARRC has announced plans to expand its footprint to Scottsdale, occupying space in the Paiute Neighborhood Center, a City of Scottsdale-operated community that features social, recreational, cultural, and educational programs and services. 

RESTAURANT ROUNDUP PARTICIPATING PARTNERS

We’re partnering with the kindest (and tastiest!) restaurants in the Valley! Support SARRC and our incredible Arizona restaurant community by visiting the following restaurants. Each restaurant will have different specials that give back to SARRC throughout the month of April. 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a grant valued at over $1 million to the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), in partnership with SciTech Institute and the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC). The grant will be used to foster engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning and social interaction for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 

Two years ago, Anthony Morales started as an aftercare assistant at the Tempe Community School. Since the pandemic began, he took it upon himself to further his education, pass his Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) exam, and become a new Community School aftercare lead—all while attending Arizona State University.

Heather Decker and her husband, Todd, have three beautiful girls: 7-year-old Emily, 4.5-year-old Charlotte, and 15-month-old Rachel. When their oldest daughter, Emily, was around two years of age, Heather noticed that something wasn’t right. She noticed her speech was delayed and felt that no matter what she did, she couldn’t quite connect with her or get her to understand the things she wanted to teach her. Heather turned to parent classes and read countless books to try and figure out what may be the cause.

By Brent Jackson 

I moved to Phoenix, Arizona in July 2018 from Columbus, Ohio after being accepted to the First Place Transition Academy [operated by SARRC] program. I’ve always enjoyed visiting Arizona on vacations and spring break adventures when I was in middle school, and knew that Arizona was somewhere I would love to live at some point, eventually.