Have you registered to BE A HERO and join Giant Steps for our Annual 5K Walk for Autism? ONLY 15 days left until the walk! Get registered NOW! You do not have to partake in the event to register and fundraise for Giant Steps! We need YOUR super HERO powers to reach our goal of […]

As the school year is in full swing, we are planning to highlight different members of our Autism Friendly Directory (AFD) throughout the year. The AFD is a community resource for families living with autism. The directory provides a list of businesses and organizations that provide services and resources whom have earned the Giant Steps’ […]

Giant Steps’ recognizes staff… Each month, Giant Steps’ staff nominate and vote on staff members who they see “make a difference” daily! The winners for the month of September were, Morgan Mensavage, Senior PA in Elementary, Joe Henigan, Substitute Teacher for Secondary/Transition, Mi’ara Perkins, Organizational PSA for Canopy, and Mandie Taylor in Central Administration. Meet […]

Who is your hero? Who do you admire or look up to for their courage, their achievements, their qualities overall? What does it mean to be someone’s hero?  It is YOUR chance to be a HERO to Giant Steps, to our students and participants. With YOUR super powers and support, Giant Steps is able to give our students […]

One of the many signs of a healthy organization is the ability to clearly articulate WHAT we do, HOW we do it, and WHERE we see ourselves going/growing into. It is also important for an organization to be able to identify what culture they want to create along with the values that should be instilled […]

How do you prep and prepare your family for getting everyone ready to go back to school or to get back in their routine for their daily program? Whether it is the excitement of the very first day of school, the transition between grade school to middle school, middle school to high school, or high […]

What better reason for our participants to enjoy the outdoors than to take care of and enjoy a garden area! Canopy Parents’ Club purchased garden beds, flowers, vegetables, and soil with funds that were raised and saved from previous events that they hosted. The Canopy Parents’ Club also donated all of the gardening tools! In […]

The Autism Friendly Directory (AFD) is growing! There are currently 24 members on the directory and several who are steps away from being added and certified as “Autism Friendly.” The 411 about the AFD… What: The AFD is a community resource for families living with autism. The AFD provides a list of businesses and organizations […]

We are so excited to share that Christine’s Dream Equestrian Center, our therapeutic riding program based at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, IL, was awarded a grant of $9,000 from the Adtalem Global Education Foundation last month. The Adtalem Global Education Foundation was established in 2010 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The private foundation […]

Building relationships. Building relationships is crucial in most jobs, but especially in mine, Development. It is important to put myself out there in the community and learn about businesses and organizations, so that I can find and determine ways that Giant Steps is able to work together with and partner with others in the community. […]