Penfield Children's Center Year End Appeal Campaign
Support Penfield’s First Connections – Autism Services program by making a donation.
Your donation supports these crucial objectives:
Expand our First Connections program
ensuring services and resources for the
1 in 36 children in Wisconsin diagnosed with autism.
Any donation enables Penfield to serve more families in our community.
Provide resources, guidance, and hope to families
embarking on the challenging journey
of raising children with autism.
A donation of $150 provides a
training binder to a family.
Provide comprehensive training for our staff,
equipping them with the necessary
tools to positively impact the lives of more families in our community.
A donation of $1,500 provides training for one Penfield staff member.
Meet Graysen and his family
One family who has benefited from the First Connections program is Graysen and his mom, Kimberlyn. When Graysen was 18 months old, Kimberlyn noticed that his communication skills were not up to speed with his peers. He wasn’t speaking and wasn’t interacting with anyone.
“We were really worried about Graysen,” Kimberlyn recalls. “We didn’t know what to do or where to turn.” Then, Kimberlyn learned about the First Connections program. She enrolled Graysen in the program, and within weeks, she began to see a difference.
“Graysen started to communicate more,” Kimberlyn says. “He started to make eye contact. He started to play with other children. It was amazing.”
Today, Graysen is a thriving three-year-old. He is utilizing a variety of communication skills and has made many friends. His family is grateful for the First Connections program for helping him on his journey to reaching his full potential.
“The First Connections program really did give me hope that my son will be able to have just a normal life” – Kimberlyn
What our staff is saying
“The program is easy to follow and understand, and it fits into the busy lives of parents with young children. It teaches parents how to make small changes in their everyday interactions with their children that can help them build important skills such as eye contact, responding to their name, social interaction, learning, and communicating with others.”
— Katie Ambrosio, ECSE
Penfield First Connections provider
Visit Penfield Building Blocks for a resources, activates and videos for families.
