ELIJA Foundation Works to Expand Autism Knowledge

While Deborah Harris was able to help her autistic son manage his difficulties, she is also aware that many other families might not have the resources or the knowledge to help an autistic child.

To combat this, she started the ELIJA Foundation which operates in the tri-state area. The foundation has a school in Levittown called The ELIJA School, which works with autistic students.

“Some people don’t know much about autism and we need to teach them,” said Harris. “A lot of what we do is informing and we want to do more and more of that.”

Recently, Harris began assisting New York City schools that are having trouble with autistic children. In addition, many families know little about autism and are not sure what to do when they have an autistic child. Harris has consulted with such people and knows experts in the field that can help them out.

“In some cases, the autistic child will need to be placed in a residential home,” she said. “A lot of people view that as a family giving up on the kid but that is simply not true at all. At times it is the best option available.”

The foundation runs off of donations, while the school operates on tuition fees and outside donations. “It costs $150,000 to educate an autistic child at our school,” Harris said. “We have one-on-one teaching and we are often dealing with very non-verbal students and have to consult with experts. There is a lot going on. Some of that cost is met through the tuition while the rest is met through donations and charity events.”

The foundation plans to expand in the coming years, which is why donations are especially important now. The foundation was recently part of a fundraising opportunity at the Americana Manhasset and the Wheatley Plaza shopping malls in Manhasset. From December 1 to December 3, 25 percent of what customers bought at the mall stores was donated to a charity that they picked from the malls’ respective lists. The ELIJA Foundation was one of the selectable charities.

“In past years we’ve done specific events with certain stores,” said Harris. “This year we decided to try this out."

Harris has used her own journey with her autistic son as an opportunity to help others and does not plan to stop anytime soon. As her foundation branches out, she hopes that people will take the opportunity to learn how to assist people with autism, as well as make an effort to better understand those who have it.