“It’s such a joy to be a part of this mission because our students, we just see them blossom,” said Carrie Provenzale, Executive Director of Turning Pointe Autism Foundation. “We get to see them start to grow their confidence and then their skill sets.”
This year, Naperville’s Turning Pointe Autism Foundation turns 15 years old. Located at 1500 W Ogden Ave., the education facility provides unique assistance to families with children with autism.
The Turning Pointe Facility
“Over these 15 years, we’ve been building an ideal learning environment for our students,” said Provenzale. “We get to enjoy specialty classrooms as well as an occupational therapy gym, sensory rooms, spaces for clinicians to collaborate. And this year we started doing our exterior renovations to provide better places for our kids to enjoy.”
Turning Pointe does not limit its support to just children. The foundation offers several ways for adults with autism to get involved, such as using an in-house Walgreens to learn about participating in the workforce.
“We have a great program that is supporting impacted adults with in-house employment,” said Provenzale. “The community can order our coffee or t-shirts and those things are being packed and produced by adults in our program.”
The Foundation’s Beginnings
Established in 2007, Turning Pointe founders Kim and Randy Wolf began the organization after asking an important question.
“Kim and Randy Wolf, who are local Naperville parents, were able to recruit and support specialists helping their son Jack emerge from a very dark place when he was first diagnosed with autism,” said Provenzale. “What I love about this story is instead of Kim and Randy just being grateful that Jack was in a better place, they said, ‘What are families doing that can’t do what we just did for our son?’’
Turning Pointe has grown from a small group of seven students to 70 students over its 15 years in the Naperville area. Looking to the future, Provenzale knows it’s crucial the foundation keeps expanding to help more families.
“”We are growing and the need is growing,” said Provenzale. “Our adult program is going to continue to blossom over the next year, and then we will also be adding additional programming for younger kids in 2023.”
December Raffle
To help with that cause, the group is currently holding a raffle for a 2023 Toyota Sequoia Capstone, with a drawing on Dec. 15. For more information about the raffle, or to purchase a ticket, visit the Turning Pointe Autism Foundation website.
Turning Pointe prides itself on providing both children and adults impacted by autism with an opportunity to not only be a part of the Naperville community, but to thrive in it.
“They’re able to go out and enjoy the community, this wonderful Naperville community we have here,” said Provenzale. “They’re able to access it and (Turning Pointe) helps families feel less isolated and have more opportunities to be connected.”
Naperville News 17’s Will Payne reports.
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