Options and Advocacy for McHenry County

Dear Friend and Families,

October 2nd, 2020

Options & Advocacy continues to be here for you! We have moved many of our supports and services to virtual or phone. We recognize how difficult things are and how differently we need to function. We hope that you will continue to seek our support for your little ones under age three who may be experiencing a delay in their development. Our Child & Family Connections program can provide a wide range of supports for eligible children and their families. Our Autism Resource Center provides supports and services for children and adults who have a diagnosis of autism. ARC provides support groups as well as education and advocacy. We have openings in our HUG (Helping Us Grow) program for the families of little ones who could benefit from a home visiting program that supports parenting and the social-emotional growth of young children.

We often talk about transitions, transitions from early intervention to early childhood, or transitions between activities (virtual or classroom). Options & Advocacy is beginning a transition as well. I have had the best job for 9 years – executive director of an amazing agency that understands the unique challenges that our families face. Options & Advocacy has survived budget cuts, loss of programs, delays in payments, and a host of other large and small trials. Our resilience is like yours! We do what we need to do because we believe in it so much.

I will be retiring on November 13 after 21 years at O&A. I am so proud of our staff and our work to make this a better community for children and adults with intellectual and developmental needs and their families. O&A is strong and I am excited to see where the agency will go in the next 21 years.

I am also very excited to announce that Winter Noe, Program Manager for our Autism Resource Center, will be the next Executive Director of Options & Advocacy. Winter has been with O&A for 10 years. Before that, she was a developmental therapist in early intervention and a special education teacher. Winter is a natural leader and well respected in the community. She grew up with a brother who had developmental and medical challenges. She has a heart and soul for our work and she will continue the mission of Options & Advocacy,

to empower individuals and their families through advocacy and education while creating a more inclusive community.

I wish you peace, my friends.

Cindy Sullivan