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About Us
Our story
We are a community service group that provides services & events for families!
Autism is a developmental disorder which varies in severity and is characterized by difficulty in social interaction, communication, and learning. In the past 3 years the Autism Moms of Kona have grown from 30 members to 700 members, with 140 of those families active in our private programs. We now span Hawaiʻi island, with Autism Moms of Kona operating as our Kona chapter, and the Ava Sofia Foundation – Hilo Chapter on the east side of the island.
We started as a small grassroots organization that was born out of an extreme need for support as a caregiver that lacked adequate support in the community and that experienced endless waitlists when it came to service provision. Our motto is WE are Special Needs, and we believe that the entire family needed specialized support so that families raising a child with developmental delays or disabilities could thrive in the home with the proper education, establishment of services, support and resources. By doing so, this thereby encourages families to gain the courage to integrate into a community that was also educated on autism acceptance. We work together with community partners and parents to teach people what autism is, and then we curate immersive and engaging experiences that are accommodating to people with any ability. Our efforts have been therapeutic not only for the individuals with disabilities, but also for those who participate whether family member or volunteer. We believe very strongly in supporting all involved in raising a child with autism, not only the family but also the educators and service providers that work with these individuals on a daily basis.
In addition, we look to create awareness and acceptance for Autism in our community so that families can understand better their child’s disability prior to or upon diagnosis.
We have been established as a community group since 2018 and have just recently been granted our 501(c)3 tax exempt status for our nonprofit aegis, the Ava Sofia Foundation (in honor of my 12 year old autistic daughter) in March of 2023.
Our goal is to encourage awareness in the community, so that parents can identify potential early signs of Autism so that early intervention and support can begin at a young age when their brains are more pliable and receptive to treatment. Awareness is to also emphasize that inclusive environment, because children are our strongest leaders. If they understand that their peers need support, and their parents know how to have those conversations with their neurotypical children and know how to answer their questions, then they can become enthusiastic about helping their peers in and out of classroom settings.