Happy New Year! Now, that 2018 has begun now is a great time to start researching and applying for grants for your child with autism or other diagnosis. We want more money, more services and better care for our children with autism in 2018!
I have researched the following grants and foundations. Some I did qualify for and apply to them, others we did not meet the qualifications and therefore I did not complete the application process. My hopes are that with as different as each individual with autism is that with this list that at least one grant/scholarship could work for your family.
United Healthcare Children’s Foundation
I applied and received $2,000 from this grant foundation for ABA, speech and occupational therapy. You have to have commercial insurance that has high deductibles as well as proof of income. I highly recommend this opportunity to all parents. Lots of paperwork involved but worth it.
ACT! Today and ACT! Today for Military Families
I also applied and was denied for a $1,500 grant to enclose my yard at home with a fence. We only needed the front of the house fenced to make sure that my son wouldn’t wander from the house or run. We were denied but the reasoning was that they had used most of their funds for the fiscal year and it was the 3rd quarter when I applied. I would recommend looking into this grant because it has flexibility for more than just medical costs. Also, they have a grant specially for military families.
I applied and was approved for the Fund it Forward program. It is not a grant but more like an organization that will help you fundraise your own funds for a project. Fund it Forward supports the mission of helping provide adaptive medical equipment to special needs children. They accepted the fence as a project but I would have to do most of the work to get an event organize and hosted. This was not possible for me at the time but may work for a family that has a need for larger more expensive medical equipment or maybe a therapy dog? You just have to ask.
A great option for therapy, equipment, and vehicle modifications. This scholarship takes applicants from all over the world. It has specific guidelines and requirements but it’s worth looking into if you are in need of equipment not covered by insurance or even had to travel for care and had large expenses. If you have large medical bills or are going without services because of cost, read here and see if you qualify.
TACA (Talk About Curing Autism) has a lot of resources. I have not found their scholarships and grants helpful because I have a son who is currently 6 with autism. I have been to a meeting and talked with other TACA supporters that get parenting resources and support groups through the organization. I find the scholarship information is for older teens getting ready for college or there are grants out there if you want to do medical heavy metal testing. If you are interested in medical intervention for autism or have children that are “medically complex” you should consider using resources from TACA.
Need speech therapy for a non-verbal child or think that your child needs to be tested for Apraxia? This is a great grant opportunity that is open each quarter of the year to applicants. There are guidelines and financials and plenty of pages of application; just like the rest. I would like to note that if you are looking at the assistive speech devices and software this scholarship will cover the software and therapy. It’s worth looking into if you really need speech therapy and your insurance is not covering it or has a very high deductible.
I like Mr. Strong because it is local to Florida and Tampa Bay. They are in our neighborhood events and favorite places. You have to check the website often to see when they are accepting application. If you are not in Tampa Bay, I would urge you to look into non-profit organizations in your city. If you are struggling to find something, go to your major sports programs and ask if they know or support any organizations for special needs children. And if you still can’t find something then…you have to start the process.
Remember these are just a few that I found! Keep searching and applying. If I can answer any questions, please ask. Be your child’s advocate and keep finding new ways to get whatever you need to make his/her life the best.
Keep fighting!
Ruthfulness 