Two Autism Mothers Making a Difference to Achieve Autism Acceptance

Two local moms are celebrating a milestone is their efforts to bring about better awareness and interaction with people who have autism.

 Chelsea Budde of Waukesha and Denise Schamens of Pewaukee founded a nonprofit called Good Friends, Inc.

On Tuesday, they reached 40,000 with a special presentation at Brookfield Central High School.

The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is dedicated to creating autism awareness, teaching acceptance of differences, and fostering empathy for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among their typically-developing peers.

Observers say the program has been changing the social emotional culture in area schools since 2007 with a focus on 9th to 12th graders.

Over the course of their four Individualized classroom presentations engaging more than 100 BCHS students, they will have reached more than 40,000 people in less than a decade.

The School District of Elmbrook has invited GFI to deliver these services to choir students in an effort to build natural peer supports.

 A screening of GFI's original, award-winning film, "Choosing To Be a GFF (Good Friend Forever) (2011) was included.

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