Meet Kaylee Hofferber,
known to all of us as SweetPea.

She is 6 years old. She is smart. She is loving. And she is autistic.

The Sweet Pea Foundation
Rescuing children with autism.  Bringing hope to their families.

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that invades all aspects of a child's life. Children with autism may exhibit any or all of these symptoms ...

• Self-hitting or aggressive behavior
• Inability to speak or echoing speech
• Lack of or minimal eye contact
• Cognitive delays
• Failure to develop peer relationships or make friends
• Ritualistic or repetitive behavior
• Frequent tantrums and outbursts for no discernible reason
• High preference for being alone and lack of connection to
  people or the world

In the 1980s, autism affected an average of 1 in every 10,000 children.
But in recent years, there has been an epidemic explosion of autism cases - instances of autism are up over 1,000% in the last 15 years. According to recent 2002/2003 studies, as many as 1 in every 250 children born today will be on the autistic spectrum.

Autism is now more common than Down's syndrome, multiple sclerosis,
or cystic fibrosis. It is more prevalent than all instances of childhood cancers combined. And yet, autism research still receives less than 5% of the funding of all of these other diseases. And insurance does not cover the therapies, like ABA, that are proven to be so effective in helping to rescue these children and enabling them to lead happy, productive lives.

The burden of finding and funding help for these precious children falls on the families and the families alone. A single year of ABA therapy averages $35,000 to $50,000. Most children need multiple years of this intensive therapy if they are to have a hope of achieving "mainstreaming" into a typical school classroom.

Offdutyfirefighters.net is committed to rescuing Kaylee and children
like her from the devastating disorder of autism. A percentage of all firefighter membership fees is donated to help sponsor therapy for children with autism. You too can make a profound difference in the lives of these precious children who so desperately want their voices to be heard. Your generous donation, no matter what the amount, will make the outlook brighter for the child you sponsor. 100% of all donations go directly to the SweetPea foundation.