By: Sarah Wright | Troy Times | Published May 10, 2024
TROY — The Ted Lindsay Foundation provides support to various autism research and education programs through fundraising and promotional efforts.
Ted Lindsay was a Canadian hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. Lindsay created the foundation after a friend’s son was diagnosed with autism in 2001, and though Lindsay passed in 2019, the TLF continues to support research and educational programs that focus on the cause and management of those with autism.
“The Ted Lindsay Foundation HOPE Center at Beaumont Children’s continues to provide high-quality, effective behavioral intervention and Hands-On Parent Education (HOPE) to families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental disorders,” Lynn LaPaugh, secretary of the Ted Lindsay Foundation, said in an email. “TLF HOPE Center offers evidence-based, developmentally appropriate therapy for children to address challenges in social communication, play and learning.”
In connection with Beaumont Health, the Ted Lindsay Foundation HOPE Center is a part of the Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital Care Center and offers applied behavior analysis programs for children and parents that focuses on education and behavioral intervention.
“The programs have a heavy emphasis on parent education and training, especially for those whose kids might be at risk or recently diagnosed,” Ted Lindsay Foundation HOPE Center Clinical Manager Lesly Hendershot said. “We’ve served around 250 children and families in the last year through our programs.”
The foundation has also provided support to other local programs that share the foundation’s goals. In 2018, a pledge of $1 million was presented to the Oakland University Center for Autism Outreach Services, OUCARES, also known as the Joanne and Ted Lindsay Autism Outreach Services at Oakland University. The pledge was for teenage and adult autism programs in the community, though this organization offers a wide variety of programs for those on the spectrum from age 3 to adulthood as well as their families, caregivers and others within the broader community.
The programming for OUCARES includes recreational sports, social skill building programs, employable-skill building programs, life-skill summer camp programs, and other special events.
“Since receiving this pledge, around 1,500 teens and adults on the spectrum have been given access to programs that help them develop skills and improve their employability,” Alicia Garcia, the director of the Joanne and Ted Lindsay Foundation Autism Outreach Services Oakland University Center for Autism, said.
Around 1,100 parents and caregivers have been able to participate in other specialized programming through the TLF’s pledge.
To further promote the foundation’s efforts, the TLF will be holding its annual wine tasting event 6-9 p.m. May 16 at The San Marino Club. A cash bar will be available, and business casual attire is encouraged.
“The wine tasting is a wonderful evening centered around great wines, food stations, celebrity wine pourers and silent and live auctions,” LaPaugh said in an email. “This year, we are featuring Nicola Biscardo’s Italian wines and Nicola will be at the wine tasting in person.”
Tickets cost $165 per person and can be purchased online. For more information, tedlindsay.org.