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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Debra Nauman, the founder | ||||||
| 4 | of Giant Steps, on her years of tenacious work for the autism | ||||||
| 5 | community; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Debra Nauman, a single mother with two children on | ||||||
| 7 | the autism spectrum, began her journey 23 years ago; motivated | ||||||
| 8 | by her son, Riley, who was not receiving the services he needed | ||||||
| 9 | at school to effectively learn, she realized he needed a | ||||||
| 10 | program that understood him and autism; her dynamic personality | ||||||
| 11 | led her to start Giant Steps, the first school in Illinois for | ||||||
| 12 | students with autism, in 1996; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Without alternatives for programming, Debra | ||||||
| 14 | Nauman turned to her local legislator, former U.S. | ||||||
| 15 | Representative Judy Biggert, for assistance; subsequently, | ||||||
| 16 | former State Representative Patti Bellock continued to support | ||||||
| 17 | Giant Steps; with their help, the initial funding to start | ||||||
| 18 | Giant Steps was secured through the Illinois General Assembly, | ||||||
| 19 | making Riley the first student at Giant Steps Day School; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Today, Giant Steps serves over 200 students and | ||||||
| 21 | adults from across northern Illinois; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Giant Steps autism services now include the | ||||||
| 2 | Transition Day School program in Lisle, where there are 165 | ||||||
| 3 | students attending from over 60 public school districts in | ||||||
| 4 | northern Illinois; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, The Canopy Adult Day Program located in Sugar | ||||||
| 6 | Grove provides vital continuing education for adults with | ||||||
| 7 | autism who have aged out of the public school system; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Christine's Dream Equestrian Center at Rich | ||||||
| 9 | Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove offers therapeutic riding lessons | ||||||
| 10 | and vocational opportunities focused on experiential education | ||||||
| 11 | and recreational skill development for students and adults from | ||||||
| 12 | across northern Illinois; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, The Recreation After School Center in Lisle is a | ||||||
| 14 | program that addresses two needs for families; first, it | ||||||
| 15 | provides engaging and educational and community opportunities | ||||||
| 16 | for students and adults after school; second, it provides camps | ||||||
| 17 | for students during holidays that offer exciting and engaging | ||||||
| 18 | activities designed to support learning; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, These programs have helped countless individuals | ||||||
| 20 | living with autism by offering new educational and therapeutic | ||||||
| 21 | programs and enriching their daily lives, and Giant Steps has | ||||||
| 22 | grown into a national leader in the world of autism; therefore, | ||||||
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| 1 | be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 3 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 4 | we congratulate Debra Nauman on her years of untiring work as | ||||||
| 5 | the founder of Giant Steps and commend all she has done to help | ||||||
| 6 | families across the State who are living with autism; and be it | ||||||
| 7 | further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to Debra Nauman as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 10 | respect.
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