The Story of Families for Effective Autism Treatment - North Texas (FEAT-NT)
Nearly 15 years ago, a group of Dallas Fort Worth volunteer parents came together to form an organization that would help them discover the answers they needed to help their children and families through their autism journey. As the years went by, the numbers of autism increased and so did the FEAT-NT family of friends and professionals. What started out as monthly meetings and a small group of parents, FEAT-NT began the mission of educating the outside public on what autism is and how effective teaching principles will help individuals with autism to reach greater potential than ever before thought possible and to live fuller lives. FEAT-NT is proud to have first sponsored the leading professionals in autism to the Dallas Fort Worth community. Over the course of time, our educational opportunities and conference have educated more than 15,000 parents and professionals. Three years ago, FEAT-NT embarked on a mission to open the very first autism resource center & library of its kind in North Texas.
The FEAT-NT Resource Center & Library
The center includes:Autism Library:Donated by Future Horizons Publishing Company in Arlington, Texas, our library has over 400 books and resources on Autism, Aspergers, ADHD, and ADD. We currently check out books free of charge. We ask that you limit the number of resources checked out to 3 items at a time and return or recheck them out within 2 weeks.
Workshop Space:
Our center has space to hold workshops for 40 attendees. Our workshops cover a variety of topics and provide learning opportunities that will help professionals and families seeking effective autism treatment. We are pleased to partner with community organizations to present more learning opportunities at FEAT-NT.
Some of the topics covered:
FEAT's ABC's of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis), Self Help Skills, Behavioral Interventions, Financial Planning, Language Development, Parenting Courses, The ARD and IEP Process, Asperger Support Group Meetings, Sign Language to Facilitate Verbal Communication and MORE.... For information on upcoming meetings check our calendar located on the front page of our website at www.featnt.org.
A Children's Development and and Play Room:
Our developmental play room can be accessed by appointment by parents and professionals needing space and materials to work with children. The room is filled with therapy flash cards and supplies as well as many reinforcing toys, games, puzzles, and a T.V. with VHS/DVD player.
Parent Work Area:
Our goal is to further stock our parent work area with materials to aide parents in running home programs. Computers, software, and materials allow parents to create token charts, PECS programs, data sheets and more.We continue to find ways to develop the center into a place that will help support the autism community. If you have items that you would like to donate, please email info@featnt.org.
FEAT-NT is a 501 c 3 nonprofit. All donations are tax deductible to the extent the law allows.We invite parents and professionals to visit us during open hours on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:30 to 2:30 and on Wednesday evenings for support group meetings from 6:30 to 9:00pm.
In addition to our center, FEAT-NT is active within the autism community by providing ongoing:
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Parent Mentoring
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Support Group Meetings
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Sibling Outreach Programs called "Sibshops"
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Community Autism Awareness and Training
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Family Fun Days
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Legislation Participation
No membership is required.
We are excited to be apart of the North Texas autism community and love what our organization is about. We were all empowered by FEAT-NT in the beginning of our autism journey as parents and we continue to learn even now as we provide support and guidance and share with others what we've learned along the way. We look forward to presenting the 2011 FEAT-NT Conference, "Teaching Does Make a Difference" to you and hope that you can attend!
With You Every Step of the Way,
Laurie Snyder
President
and the Board of Directors of FEAT-NT
Families for Effective Autism Treatment - North Texas
Resource Center & Library
7286 Glenview Drive
Richland Hills, Texas 76180
(682)626-5000
