Great River Autism Connection

His­to­ry

Start­ed by an area mom of a child with autism, Great Riv­er Autism Con­nec­tion (GRAC) moved to Quin­cy Med­ical Group at the estab­lish­ment of pedi­atric ther­a­py in 2010. Since then, the group has pro­vid­ed fam­i­lies and care­givers of indi­vid­u­als with Autism Spec­trum Dis­or­ders a chance to learn, share and gain sup­port from the group. In 2022, GRAC offi­cial­ly came under the Quin­cy Med­ical Group Foun­da­tion umbrella.

Work

With monies raised, GRAC offers free events for fam­i­lies to con­nect, pro­vides resources, and pro­motes edu­ca­tion­al oppor­tu­ni­ties. Each year GRAC hosts a walk to cre­ate aware­ness, accep­tance, and con­nec­tion with­in the community.

Mis­sion Statement

Great Riv­er Autism Con­nec­tion pro­vides fam­i­lies and care­givers of indi­vid­u­als with Autism Spec­trum Dis­or­ders a chance to learn, share, and gain resources. Monies raised pro­vide free resources and edu­ca­tion­al oppor­tu­ni­ties to fam­i­lies, teach­ers, care­givers, and indi­vid­u­als of all ages to improve over­all func­tion­ing and suc­cess in the home, school, and com­mu­ni­ty envi­ron­ments. Our focus is on aware­ness, con­nec­tion, and acceptance.

Stand­ing in the Gap

GRAC has two ini­tia­tives aimed at improv­ing the qual­i­ty of life for patients by pro­vid­ing them with access to equip­ment, mate­ri­als, and tools. These ini­tia­tives are a step towards ensur­ing that all patients have the nec­es­sary resources to lead a healthy life.

GRAC AAC Device Loan­er Request

One way we can sup­port patients is by pro­vid­ing a loan­er aug­men­ta­tive and alter­na­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion device, intend­ed for short-term use with an agree­ment for a long-term strat­e­gy for a device. The pur­pose of the loan­er is to sup­port patients in the inter­im until the insur­ance-approved device is available.

The patient must be eval­u­at­ed by a Speech Ther­a­pist and required steps must be tak­en pri­or to com­plet­ing the application.

To learn more, con­tact Lyn­nae Glas­cock, GRAC com­mit­tee mem­ber at lglascock@​quincymedgroup.​com.

Click here to down­load the appli­ca­tion for finan­cial assis­tance to sup­port local autis­tic indi­vid­u­als and families.

GRAC BOOST Grant

The sec­ond ini­tia­tive is the GRAC BOOST grant, which aims to sup­port indi­vid­u­als with Autism Spec­trum Dis­or­der by pro­vid­ing them access to equip­ment, mate­ri­als, and tools to enhance and improve their qual­i­ty of life. The pro­gram offers grants of up to $1,000 per per­son to help indi­vid­u­als with a cur­rent diag­no­sis of Autism Spec­trum Dis­or­der. Pay­ments will be made direct­ly to ven­dors OR come in the form of a gift card.

The Foun­da­tion will assist with needs relat­ed to:

  • Com­mu­ni­ca­tion
  • Activ­i­ties of dai­ly living
  • Instru­men­tal activ­i­ties of dai­ly living
  • Motor skills
  • Mobil­i­ty
  • Social skills
  • Adap­tive equipment
  • Trans­porta­tion
  • Equip­ment
  • Sen­so­ry processing
  • Edu­ca­tion
  • Safe­ty
  • Nutri­tion

The Foun­da­tion is unable to assist with needs such as:

  • Med­ical or insur­ance bills
  • Cable bills
  • Long-term or for­ward pay­ment past 2 – 3 months
  • Out­stand­ing loans or bad debt (includ­ing bills that have been sent to col­lec­tions, involved in any court process­es or fees, etc.)

Please obtain these required doc­u­ments and have them ready before you begin the appli­ca­tion. You will need to include them with your application.

  • Proof of autism diag­no­sis. Please pro­vide a copy of a for­mal report, med­ical doc­u­men­ta­tion, Indi­vid­u­al­ized Edu­ca­tion­al Pro­gram (IEP) report, or com­plet­ed Con­fir­ma­tion of Diag­no­sis form.
  • Proof of cost for the equip­ment, mate­ri­als, and/​or tools.

You may also pro­vide addi­tion­al doc­u­men­ta­tion or paper­work that would aid in the deci­sion-mak­ing and help tell the sto­ry of how this request will ben­e­fit your child.

GRAC BOOST Grant Forms


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