What is FEAT
FEAT (Families for Early Autism Treatment) is a non-profit organization of parents and
professionals, designed to help families with children who have received the diagnosis of
Autism or Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). It offers a network of support
where families can meet each other and discuss issues surrounding autism and treatment
options. FEAT has a Board of Directors that meets monthly to discuss issues, establish
priorities, and vote on the direction of the organization.
Three times a year, a newsletter is published which contains current news and events.
FEAT also works to support the development of professional ABA resources in the
community and to provide information on ABA to libraries, mental health organizations,
and governmental agencies.
A Short History of FEAT
FEAT was founded in 1993 by a group of parents and professionals in the Sacramento
area who wanted to improve the early intervention services that were available. (Note all
references to FEAT on this page refer to the original Sacramento group)
Together they wrote grants and raised enough money to provide intensive early
intervention training for parents and local professionals. In 1993, therapists from the
UCLA Clinic for the Behavioral Treatment of Children started coming to the Sacramento
area and provided training workshops to help the families in FEAT get started. As a result
of these early workshops, several professionals in the Sacramento area were trained to
help families run programs.
Since 1993 over 75 children in the Sacramento area have participated in the workshops
sponsored by FEAT with the UCLA Clinic for the Behavioral Treatment of Children and
other behavioral clinics. Many of the children are now attending regular public schools,
most with the assistance of an aide. FEAT's ability to provide these workshops was made
possible by a $75,000 grant from the Sierra Health Foundation. Without this grant, few of
these children would have been able to participate in the early intervention program. In
addition to training services, FEAT has provided monthly resource meetings, which are
designed to provide information to families whose children have just been diagnosed with
autism to serve as a continuing information resource to all parents.
In 1997 FEAT produced the video, "Doctor, My Child Doesn't Talk" - The Importance of
Early Autism Diagnosis. This video won the 1997 Autism Society of America's award for
excellence in video.
- To educate the community so that children with autism are identified at an early age
(before 3 years)
- To advocate directly with public agencies for services for children with autism and assist
parents in obtaining advocacy support to obtain appropriate services from private and
public agencies for their children with autism.
- To support families with autistic children through meetings and parent networking.
To provide and/or facilitate with public agencies initial early intervention training for
families with children with autism.
- To coordinate continuing consultation, training and treatment for autistic children.
- To obtain funds from public and private sources to carry out the above goals.
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