Hope Network’s Center for Autism in Holland opened its doors to the community Tuesday to share information and its future plans. Maggie Moore is the Hope Network Center for Autism Executive director. She says they wanted to allow the community the opportunity to see their space and all that they’re doing.
Moore says the need for services is great and growing. The Centers for Disease Control or CDC says that one in 36 children have Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. Just ten years ago, the prevalence of ASD in children was 1 in 54.
“In the Holland location we originally had just a small space and we’ve taken over the whole building at this point and time.”
Moore says she’s grateful for the opportunity to serve those with autism but adds there’s a lot of misinformation to tackle.
“And so, we’d like to make sure we highlight the fact that individuals with autism are individuals. You’ve met one-you’ve met one. Each one is individual and different and we at the Hope Center for “Autism we work on supporting the individual and what their future goals are.”
Moore says plans for the future include adding an outdoor space to the center, like a playground that could help with learning. She says more information can be found at Hopenetwork.org\center-4-autism
