Foundation for Empowering Citizens with Autism Inc. Information

FECA was formed in 1994 with the principal mission to start a school for children with autism using the most effective, scientifically based methods of teaching. In 1996, FECA partnered with the Devereux Foundation to open the Devereux Millwood Learning Center with an entering class of 12; the school currently serves 48 children ages 5-21 from the metropolitan New York area. Through its fundraising efforts FECA continued to support the school and to advocate and assist in the further development of an innovative community integration program that provided vocational training and experiences for the aging population. Now entering its third decade of leadership and advocacy, FECA expanded its mission to embrace the growing population of adults with autism who were prepared to take on vocational work but encountered a dearth in employment opportunities. Our newly named FECA, the Foundation for Empowering Citizens with Autism is continuing to work towards ensuring that individuals with autism lead meaningful and productive lives. We do this by advocating for, providing and supporting educational, vocational, adult and other services based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA). The Opportunity Network for Employers and Employees (ONEE), a FECA initiative, was formed to create and expand upon the currently limited volunteer opportunities for adults with autism in their local communities. FECA is also dedicated to job creation for adults on the autism spectrum. To that end, FECA spun off a new, separately incorporated venture, Extraordinary Ventures New York (EVNY), which will create micro businesses specifically tailored to the interests and skills of the individual employees.