Welcome to my fundraising page; my name is Javier Rivera and in the Fall of 2023 I will be running the Chicago Marathon through the Organization for Autism Research (OAR). My team name is the Easterseals Chartwell Center team. Let me tell you a little bit as to why I am running and fundraising for the Organization for Autism Research as well as why I have chosen for my team name to be the Easterseals Chartwell Center team.


WHY RUN FOR AUTISM?
1 in 44 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism. By joining the RUN FOR AUTISM team, you’re supporting OAR’s mission to fund research and resources that help people with autism and their families today.


Here are some of the ways that OAR uses the funds raised by the RUN FOR AUTISM team:

$10 provides a Curriculum in a Box professional development set to general education teachers.
$25 provides 15 copies of A Guide to Safety to families and first responders.
$100 provides the Kit for Kids peer education resource to an entire elementary or middle school.
$150 provides 100 copies of a Life Journey through Autism guidebook sent to a community support group or military installation.
$1,000 provides a research grant for a graduate student studying autism.
$3,000 provides a scholarship for a student with autism to attend college.
$40,000 fully underwrites an applied research pilot study.

Why is my team name Easterseals Chartwell Center?

My nephew Sebastian was diagnosed with Autism around the age of 3/4 yrs old. There has been some challenges along the way; some of the challenges, at least I believe, were because as a family we were not very familiar with autism along with the implications and challenges of having a family member who has been diagnosed with autism. Easterseals Chartwell Center has been a pivot and main source of education for my family, myself and my nephew Sebastian. Since Sebastian started at the Easterseals Chartwell Center, he has flourished. The Easterseals Chartwell Center focuses on providing clinical, educational and vocational services to the greater New Orleans Autism community.

Some of the improvements or milestones since starting at Easterseals Chartwell center was his attention span and a notable improvement in his behavior and speech. You see, my nephew Sebastian is non-verbal, however, EasterSeals Chartwell has been working with my sister and now Sebastian has a Speech Pathologist who specializes in Apraxia who works with him at least twice a week. The improvement in his speech has been improving and a couple of days ago i heard him call my sister "mama", which is a huge milestone given that he is non-verbal. Despite the challenges, Sebastian is for sure a warrior; he always finds a way to communicate with us with assistance of an electronic speech device that he was able to acquire thanks to the help of his Speech Pathologist who assisted with the submission and completing the application for a grant in order for my sister to purchase the Electronic Assistance Speech device. Some of the milestones that I have mentioned have all been possible due to the talented, holistic and highly trained Easterseal Chartwell staff. What better way to thank Easterseals Chartwell Center than name my team after them.

Please help our team support OAR by making a contribution to our fundraiser and sharing this page with your family and friends. Every dollar we raise will advance Organization for Autism Research's great cause!