Like many parents whose children were being diagnosed in the early 2000s with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Steve and Sharon Whitlow did everything they could to get their son, Sam, the help he needed.
“They educated themselves through the internet, sought out available resources, did early intervention, and enrolled him in a private school—which they were fortunate enough to be able to afford,” writes Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel in her latest column.
But when Sam got to high school in 2014, Steve Whitlow went to the school administration with a thoughtful question: What happens when Sam graduates? What comes next?
“There really was no answer,” Steve Whitlow tells Riegel. “There is such a focus on early intervention, which is great because it’s so needed and it’s beneficial. The difficulty is, these kids go from early intervention to school, where everything is taken care of, so there is this expectation that something is going to happen after they graduate. But nothing happens. It’s a slap in the face.”
A few months after the visit, the Whitlows founded the Gateway Transition Center. Steve Whitlow quit his job as an attorney to start up the nonprofit and help run the organization. Sharon Whitlow, also an attorney, now supports the family. The nonprofit organization is devoted to helping autistic teenagers and young adults transition into adulthood—whether that’s college, the workforce or just independent living.
“There is a crying need for transitional services both in this community and nationwide, and it’s only going to increase,” writes Riegel. “Since the 1990s, the number of ASD diagnoses has exploded. The most recent estimates of autism prevalence is about one in 68. That’s up 30% from one in 88 in 2008, and more than double the rate of one in 150 in 2000.”
The Gateway Transition Center is now an option, but Riegel notes it’s one of the only options in the Baton Rouge area.
Late last year, Steve Whitlow also created the Genesis Employment Coalition.
“It’s really just a working group at this point, but its members have been brainstorming ways to identify potential employers in the local market and how to provide them with the kind of trained workers they need,” Riegel writes. “It’s a worthy goal from a smart, dedicated man, who has a personal stake in making this thing work. But it’s something the broader business community should take an interest in as well.”
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