Vicki House- Parent of teen with Autism

Nisonger center has changed our lives. My son Jarrod was diagnosed with Autism at age 14. He had many other diagnoses but not autism. Jarrod’s therapist suggested getting him retested at Nisonger. We finally received the diagnosis. It was painful to hear at first but yet a relief. Now that we had the diagnosis we needed we could find the resources we needed. I don’t remember who told us about teen Aspirations, but it changed our lives. Jarrod got to meet kids just like him with the same issues he has to face. He made lifetime friends. It has built up his confidence. But I think that Teen Aspirations has helped me more. I found parents that are facing the same issues. I have made lifetime friends too. The parent group supports each other in so many ways. The sessions provide parents with resources that can be hard to find. We get information about transitions, college, finance, jobs, and much more.
The best part of Teen Aspirations is that we are all here for each other, teens and Parents.

Welcome to the Nisonger Center’s 50th Anniversary page for blog posts, commentary, shared stories, photos…. you name it, we want to share it!

As you all know, The Ohio State University Nisonger Center is an interdisciplinary University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) that was started in 1966. Our mission is to work with communities to value and support the meaningful participation of people with disabilities of all ages through education, service and research. The Center serves the entire state by providing assistance to organizations, families and service providers to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in education, health, employment and community settings.

JOIN US as we celebrate 50 years of excellence and reminisce!  Feel free to share your stories as a former student/trainee, Faculty/Staff, family, patient…. let us know how Nisonger Center has impacted your life in a meaningful way :). At times, we may take snippets of these details to share on our website and/or Facebook page and ask that you only share photos that you also are comfortable with us sharing similarly and have permission to do so. Happy Sharing!