The
Marin Autism Collaborative (MAC) grew out of a county wide effort,
facilitated by Lifehouse, a non-profit agency serving adults with
developmental learning challenges, to identify the current services in
ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) in Marin County and the
current gaps in services to families, professionals and consumers
with ASD.
MAC
is comprised of a wide variety of providers, agencies, organizations
and families giving their time to ensure that families,
professionals and consumers in Marin County affected by ASD receive the
very best services throughout life. The collaborative is a
representation of the key players in the county including but not
limited to: Parents, Golden Gate Regional Center, Marin County Office
of Education, Marin SELPA, Area Board, Matrix, Lifehouse, United
Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay, Easter Seals, The Cedars,
Opportunity for Independence, non-public private schools, residential
and adult day centers and consultants.
MAC
held its first kick off event in the spring of 2007 with a well known
speaker from the MIND Institute, Rick Rollens (parent and founder). Rick
presented the current statistics on Autism and encouraged all
organizations and agencies to come together in a collaborative effort
to address the epidemic.
MAC
held its second event in the fall of 2007 and with the help of 150
participants from the County met its first goal of bringing the county
together to learn about our how county is currently handling ASD.
Participants engaged in group discussions identifying the current
services in the county and the gaps that families and professionals are
experiencing in services throughout all stages of life.
In April 2008, MAC unveiled a web directory of services providing families
and professionals with a current resource engine for Marin County.
MAC
continues to meet monthly and has established an organizational
structure that hopes to ensure an on going process of looking at the
gaps in services and helping to find solutions.
