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COMMUNITY
GILBERT SUN NEWS | MAY 1, 2022
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Gilbert family finds help in long diagnosis wait BY VALLIERE JONES GSN Contributor
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arents of children with developmental delays know the road to diagnosis is long and filled with many obstacles – but the road is especially challenging for those who have autism. In Arizona, where the Centers for Disease Control estimates one in 44 children has autism, families often wait more than a year to have their children evaluated. Gilbert mother Olivia Koenen waited two years for her son, Remi, to obtain the diagnosis he needed and sur-
mounted countless hurdles along the way. Initially, she noticed problems with his hearing. Remi didn’t respond to his name or to loud noises and toys. Yet, because he sometimes passed hearing Now that he has an autism diagnosis, Remi Wein (right, with his tests his pediabrothers Sawyer and Jasper) has access to applied behavior analysis trician admintherapy. (Special to GSN) istered during
regular visits, Koenen was told it was common for moms to be paranoid and everything was fine. By the time Remi was 2 yet not speaking, Koenen decided to take him to an audiologist herself after the pediatrician refused to provide a referral. “His doctor told me he would talk when he was ready, but when I accidentally dropped some cutting boards right next to him in the kitchen and he didn’t react, I knew something was wrong,” she said. “The audiologist said he needed tubes to remove fluid that had built up and the procedure fully
see AUTISM page 19
Nonprofit provides major home repairs for needy locals BY JOSH ORTEGA GSN Staff Writer
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n East Valley nonprofit will provide free home repairs for Gilbert residents for the first time in its history. Rebuilding Together Valley of the Sun started in 1991 with grassroot beginnings and since then has helped more than 50,000 homeowners throughout the Valley. For the first time, the nonprofit will offer a program to Gilbert residents only to provide “free, critical” home repairs for income-qualified homeowners experiencing economic challenges. “Anything that’s going to make your home safer,” Executive Director Kelly Watson said. Watson has served in that role for the past six years and said this special program comes courtesy of a grant from the Town of Gilbert and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant.
Rebuilding Together, a Mesa-based nonprofit, is providing free home repairs to needy Gilbert homeowners. (Special to GSN)
According to the Town of Gilbert documents, officials have allocated $175,000 of the $1.1 million the town received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed by then-President Trump on March 27, 2020. Watson said the nonprofit will serve homeowners in the community on a first-come, first-serve basis until the funds run out. Some of the repairs they will look for include roofing, toilet, and heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration. Some of the other projects the nonprofit includes Ramp Up! Arizona installs free wheelchair and walker ramps for low-income senior, veteran, and disabled homeowners. Through our Safe@Home program, volunteers provide free home assessments and home safety modifications for income-qualified seniors, veterans and individuals with disabilities.
see REPAIRS page 19