Hello Friends!  April is a month dedicated to the more than 3.5 million Americans that live with autism.  If we stop and think about that number it makes us say, “Wow, that’s a lot of people!”  Why are so many individuals affected with this disability?  How can we help them all?  These are all tough questions to answer and to even think about.  If we choose to focus on them it might even overwhelm us. Which is why, I encourage you to think of it like this: There are 8,760 hours in a year, 12 months in that same year, 30 days in 1 month, 24 hours in 1 day.  In other words, there are plenty of small windows of opportunities that are given to us each day to help bring hope to a family and individuals with autism.  Those opportunities come daily, in various forms such as in the way that we interact with them and the kind words we choose to use.  Also, when we push through challenging moments with them and as we celebrate their victories with them; small or big.  Or when we listen to their voices, although they may not always be loud and with words we know!  We may only touch one life, but that is one life that will dream and live in our world.  My vision here at Esperanza is to deliver “hope” to all the families and individuals that we serve.  Let our hearts motivate us and drive us forward into action each day.

Sincerely,

Vanessa Avila, CEO