NEWS FROM THE FOUNDATION

We are sad to announce that Melisa MacDonald (formerly Joyal) will be leaving us in early August after close to 5 years of employment here at the Foundation. Melisa has been a tremendous asset to the Foundation and very committed to her work. All of us here will truly miss her, however, we want to wish her the best of luck in her new career as a guidance counselor at Kennedy Middle School in Natick.

On another note, most of you have heard by now about Michael Savage’s absurd remarks on his nationally syndicated talk show claiming autism is a “fraud” and that in “99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out”. Many people in the autism community have responded to his comments by writing very thoughtful and well written letters.

The Flutie Foundation also responded to Mr. Savage’s comments with the following statement:

"Mr. Savage’s remarks are inappropriate and show no respect for all families affected by autism. He obviously lacks the necessary education to understand the disorder and likely has not spent quality time around children and families struggling to cope with autism.

Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but Mr. Savage should have done a better job of educating himself before expressing his views on the radio.

The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism remains committed to providing support for financially disadvantaged families who need assistance in caring for their children with autism through educational services and equipment."

The Boston Herald printed this Statement on Saturday, July 26th. Here is the link to the article.

Thank you to everyone who has been a loyal supporter of the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism over the past ten years. We are here to help families get the services, education and resources they need and are grateful to those who have contributed their time, money and encouragement to our organization.

Sincerely,
Lisa Borges
Executive Director