CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK) — Family Initiative celebrated the completed expansion of Thrive Academy, Southwest Florida’s autism-specialty private school, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The renovated building increases enrollment capacity and expands space for Applied Behavior Analysis, Occupational Therapy and Family Initiative’s community programs. The private school will now be able to serve students K-12 diagnosed on the autism spectrum.
The CDC estimates that 1 in 31 children in the U.S. are diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Thrive Academy’s expansion reflects the growing demand in Southwest Florida for specialized, accessible education and therapy for children and teens with autism.
Thrive Academy parents Kristy and Kevin Offerman have 14-year-old identical twins who spent years searching for resources for children on the autism spectrum.
“We worked our way through navigating the public school system for special needs, which can be very difficult. We met some amazing teachers and administrators along the way, and some of which are here now at Thrive Academy. But it’s just been a blessing to move them out of the public system into Thrive Academy,” the Offermans said.
The Offerman twins are now able to thrive in the Family Initiative private school that has Applied Behavior Analysis, Occupational Therapy and community programs that help students prepare for adulthood.
“Public school is hard for a typical child, let alone a child with autism,” Kristy Offerman said. “This has been game-changing.”
Family Initiative partners with Lee County as part of Project SEARCH site with internship opportunities available for adolescents and young adults.
“We have a whole array of services and supports as kids grow into adulthood, and I think for anyone that’s a difficult time,” Family Initiative co-founder Anjali VanDrie said. “This year we just had one of our young men who graduated from that program was offered a job at the county and is just crushing it there. So, is definitely a superstar. We could not be more proud of him or more grateful for the partnership with the community and with the county.”
Thrive Academy has spent years using research and feedback from families to provide the best support they can to families and their students.
“The biggest part for us is, in a lot of ways, the way we approach the education. It’s such an innovative, dynamic thing that I feel like we’re learning so much more every day about autism,” VanDrie said. “We’re constantly having to evolve to make sure we’re bringing the very best to our students, and so I think that’s the biggest challenge is keeping pace with the new information that we’re learning, and then how do we immediately apply that into this setting?”
The co-founders of Family Initiative said it’s taken a village of community support like the Offermans at City Tavern and state-level representatives to make the Thrive Academy expansion possible.
“Demand for autism services and education is significant across the region,” Family Initiative co-founder David Brown said. “And for us it’s just an honor to have so much community support to make today possible.”
The expanded campus has a wide range of sensory-friendly building features designed intentionally for students’ learning, sensory and developmental needs.
“Before we found Family Initiative and Thrive Academy, had no idea what to do,” Kevin Offerman said. “There’s no manual for it. So yeah, people just shoot an email or give them a call, and whatever questions, whether it’s healthcare, education, social, anything, just reach out.”