In 2009, through its All Kids Can initiative, retailer CVS
Caremark made a gift of $50,000 to fund the Autism Spectrum Disorders
Educational Series, an outreach program of the Stanford Autism Center at Packard
Children’s Hospital.
All Kids Can is a five-year, $25 million commitment to make
life easier for children with disabilities. Through this program, CVS Caremark
supports programs and services that help children with disabilities learn,
play, and succeed in life.
The All Kids Can program strives to raise awareness in
schools and communities about the importance of inclusion, to provide safe
places where children of all abilities can play and be physically active
together, and to support medical rehabilitation and related services for
children with disabilities.
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Retailer CVS Caremark made a generous gift of $50,000 to support the Stanford Autism Center at Packard Children's Hospital, led by Carl Feinstein, MD (second from right).
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Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which affect as many as 1
in 150 children in the United States, are a family of neurodevelopmental
conditions that make it difficult for some youngsters to interact with the
outside world.
Carl Feinstein, MD, the Endowed Director of Psychiatry at
Packard and division chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Stanford, says
that parents of children with ASD face enormous challenges in finding the best
available treatment options. With the goal of bringing care, research,
training, outreach, parent support, and advocacy for ASD under one umbrella, Feinstein
spearheaded the launch of the Stanford Autism Center
at Packard Children’s.
In 2008, the Center began offering the Autism Spectrum Disorders
Educational Series to help Bay Area families learn about diagnoses, treatment
options, behavioral support, current research, and other important resources. The
10-part series is available in both English and Spanish, and classes are led by
experienced Packard clinicians.
“These courses are supportive and empowering to parents, and
do not require that their children participate in our clinical programs,” says
Feinstein. “We help parents make wiser and more informed choices about the care
their child needs, and about how to access and work with essential services.”
Since the inception of the educational series, parent feedback
has been overwhelmingly positive. Packard Children’s is deeply grateful to CVS
Caremark and the All Kids Can program for their exceptional philanthropic leadership,
and for the opportunity to make such a valuable resource available to local
families.