5th Annual Auction for Autism Awareness for the FSU Early Childhood Autism Program
During the National Autism Awareness month of April, a family-friendly event, the 5th Annual Auction for Autism Awareness was hosted by the FSU Early Childhood Autism Program (ECAP) in conjunction with the Emerald Coast Association for Behavior Analysis at the Holley Academic Center Lecture Hall at FSU Panama City.
All auction proceeds benefit ECAP’s Butchikas Scholarship Program, which provides funding to families who do not have insurance or financial means to afford their child’s applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy. ABA therapy is considered medically necessary for children with autism, thus there is an incredible need to help local families get access to these services.
This year’s goal was to raise $10,000 for the scholarship program, which typically funds a full year of ABA services for children on the ECAP scholarship. The goal was exceeded by raising $11,000. While ECAP serves 30 local families, the scholarship assists about one-third of ECAP’s total clients.
The ECAP Butchikas Scholarship Program began in 2001, and is primarily supported by the George A. Butchikas Foundation for Autism. Since 2001, the Butchikas Foundation has provided ECAP with yearly scholarship donations totaling about $450,000. ECAP started their own auction in 2010 to do their part in contributing to the scholarship program and, after its fifth year, has raised a total of $29,000, all of which goes back into helping Bay County children with autism.
“Our local community is incredibly giving. Each year we are more and more impressed with the support we receive in helping our local children,” said Amy Polick, Ph.D., ECAP Director and psychology faculty at FSU Panama City. “Every day at ECAP we have children learning new skills and making great strides in their fights against autism. Without our partnerships and community support we would be unable to have these success stories.”
Recent estimates reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014) suggest that one in every 68 persons in the United States is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. In Bay County terms, this would mean 500-600 local children could be affected with the disorder, and the numbers are rising.
“It is imperative that local children get the services they need to learn communicative and social skills that will allow them to lead happier and healthier lives,” said Polick.
For more information about ECAP events and fundraising needs, contact Polick at apolick@pc.fsu.edu or 850-770-2252. To learn more about ECAP, visit http://pc.fsu.edu/ECAP
