Maria is mom to three young boys ages nine, seven, and six. All have autism. As each successive diagnosis came down, she was able to negotiate the emotional impact well enough; after the shock from her oldest son’s initial diagnosis, she became well‑versed in the services landscape and the reality of being a parent of a child with autism. So when her other sons were identified as having autism, she had enough experience to understand the new reality facing her and her family.

“We understood that is just kind of how it is,” she said. “The first time around I didn’t know what was wrong with my son and was fearful of what the future held. With my second son I had experience, I knew what I was doing. For my third son, I was confident I knew what the kids needed. We decided we were just going to move forward and not get into the ‘What are the chances?’ type of thinking.”

The biggest source of confidence and optimism was therapy. When Maria enrolled her boys into therapy services at Pediatric Therapy Center (PTC) in Nashua, the results emboldened her. Her sons showed significant improvement. While each child experienced autism in their own way, across the board she saw them grow and develop and travel their own paths to a future life of success.

But for three boys taking part in multiple therapy visits a week, there is a real cost. Despite the insurance coverage, copays present a substantial burden. Over time, these out-of-pocket fees result in a deluge of costs, which can cause tremendous financial burdens for a family’s budget.

“We have to pay literally thousands of dollars a year on co-pays with all the services that they receive,” Maria says. “Now therapy for our children is obviously a non-negotiable thing, but there is a cost burden."

Maria says her family still has debt from paying over $1,000 a week. So when she learned that her family had qualified for a grant from CMF Kids Logan’s Giving Fund for Autism, her relief was immediate.

“It was incredible,” she says. “To have this type of financial release is so helpful. We are able to put our money towards other necessities.”

Logan’s Giving Fund provides co‑pay relief to families via providers who offer diverse therapies, including Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Music Therapy, Equine Therapy, and more. Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) support has made up nearly 90% of Fund requests.

“To have this type of financial release is so helpful. We are able to put our money towards other necessities.”

PTC has been a program partner since the initiative went live in 2018. The benefits that Maria saw in her children thanks to these supports were life‑changing.

“When my youngest was 21 months old, he stopped talking,” she recalls. “He had a lot of really difficult behaviors, and his team from PTC and the school worked to figure out some other kind of communication method for him, and then, all of a sudden, he just started talking. And now, he’s telling me about his day at school using past tense in a sentence. It’s amazing how much he’s grown over the past year, just with the help of his therapists, who are literally angels on Earth.”

And for you, the donors who make all of this possible through your support of CMF Kids and Logan’s Giving Fund for Autism, and the CMF Kids Action for Autism Program, Maria has a simple message:

“Thank you so much for helping me take care of my babies. You have no idea how much this means to us.”