Executive Director Message
PFA IN THE COMMUNITY
PFA Training
First Responders, Healthcare personnel, Educators, Parents and other Professionals attended our practical and well-regarded Autism and other Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities trainings. Our training teams, which include our self-advocate co-trainers, taught 174 classes to over 4,600 attendees.
Safety
From Traffic Stop Practice, Safety Kits and swim scholarships, we promoted safety in the community. With support from local police throughout Maryland, we hosted five Traffic Stop Practice sessions supporting over 75 drivers and passengers with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 14 children with Autism are receiving swim lessons with our new swim school partnerships.
Self-Advocate Advisory Committee
We hosted 25 SAAC meetings. In addition to socializing, our members planned and participated in virtual and in-person activities, e.g., movie night, BINGO, Trivia and more. The SAAC also informed PFA staff on topics and services that matter to them, e.g., cooking classes and beta test of apps supporting independence, e.g., smartsteps4me.
This year we served 17,450 individuals across the state through our programming.
RESOURCE CENTER
9,074
Contacts
TRAINING
4,731 Individuals Trained
RECREATION
3,645 Participants
I have two sons (age 8 and 6) that are on the Autism Spectrum. We were the blessed recipients of the scholarship for swimming lessons. This was a wonderful experience. Sherye is excellent with the children and extremely talented in handling both the physical coordination issues and the behavior struggles that accompany our diagnoses. They loved the water and the lessons and took to it and “Ms. Sherye” like nothing else that we have tried. Thank you!
Amanda G.
FUNDRAISING ACROSS MARYLAND
Scavenger Hunt
In 2022 we hosted our first statewide Scavenger Hunt which deployed over 600 ambassadors in communities across the state, resulting in a weekend full of laughs, fun, and funds raised to support Pathfinders for Autism's mission.