The Autism Society of America was disappointed to report that their “Set up a 24/7 support line for families and people with autism” idea did not get Pepsi Refresh project funding in May  (the grant was only awarded to the two ideas that got the highest number of votes).

However, since their idea was in the top 100 in number of votes cast, we now have a second month to try and get to the top!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO VOTE EVERY DAY IN JUNE AT  www.refresheverything.com/autismsource.

When a diagnosis is made, parents and family members often wonder what to do next. Even where valuable treatments and support services exist, families must negotiate a maze of agencies and providers in search of support appropriate to their individual needs—a process that consumes time and energy already in short supply for families affected by autism. Parents, individuals on the spectrum and professionals often want to talk to a skilled professional about their situation, and many times cannot or do not know who to call. The Autism Society already provides this line of support to many families and individuals, but with the help of this grant, we can expand our contact center to make trained professionals available at any hour of the day or night, and provide more training and support to Autism Society chapters to improve their local outreach efforts.

We sincerely thank all of you who have been voting for us, the comments from many of you have certainly reaffirmed our conviction to find funding that will allow us to set up this kind of round the clock support.

 Please help us make this project a reality by visiting www.refresheverything.com/autismsource to cast your vote every day!

 **On behalf of the Nebraska chapter we would like to urge you to vote as well as ask your family and friends to vote EVERYDAY!  Our local chapter is primarily volunteer driven and one of the most challenging tasks for us is providing this support in a timely manner.  We strive to provide this support to our new families as well as our veteran families but the idea of having a professional available to answer and support these families 24 hours a day is absolutely amazing!     PLEASE lend your support to us help make this happen!