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(light music)

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<v ->Well, Ethan was a very quiet, mild-mannered baby,</v>

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and as a toddler, he still was like that, easy.

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He was the easiest of our three kids, by far,

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but we noticed he really wasn't speaking

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and he wasn't receptive, at times,

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to different things, and we didn't know why.

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And then we got introduced to a group called

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Childhood Development Watch,

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and they came out and assessed him,

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and did some tests with him, and they kind of really

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tuned us into the fact that he was on the autism spectrum.

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What is your favorite thing about work?

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<v ->I like washing the dishes.</v>

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<v Artie>Great.</v>

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<v Narrator>In 1997, Artie and Marcie Kempner's</v>

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entire world changed.

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A search for local resources to handle

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their family's new reality, came up short.

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So, they decided to build one

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around their own kitchen table.

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Those early years saw long nights and difficult road blocks

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to build the organization they felt their family,

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and Delaware, needed.

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<v ->Putting Autism Delaware together and building it</v>

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from just a support group, to a service agency,

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yes, we've always had Ethan in mind,

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like, what's the next step,

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but it was always about the broader community.

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<v Narrator>In 2002, Kempner established the</v>

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Drive for Autism Celebrity AM Golf Outing

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to raise the funds necessary

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for a rapidly growing organization.

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As a coordinating director for NASCAR on Fox Sports,

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he knew exactly where to turn for support.

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<v ->Hey, I'm Clint Bowyer, proud to be out here for</v>

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Drive for Autism.

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<v ->What a great event, for such a great cause,</v>

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so thank you Artie Kempner.

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<v Narrator>In the tournaments first 18 years,</v>

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the NASCAR community has rallied around the cause,

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to help raise over $7 million.

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<v ->Artie is a sort of behind-the-scenes kind of a guy,</v>

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I mean, that's obvious by the job that he does.

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He sits in a trailer, outside of the racetrack,

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and tells people what to do.

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<v ->We got four, take on four!</v>

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<v ->He has really been able to utilize his contacts</v>

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and his position to build this organization.

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And all the work he has done

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has enabled us to do what we do.

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<v Narrator>Autism Delaware now operates over</v>

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200 activities and programs, from parent counseling,

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to awareness walks, policy advocacy,

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and the nationally recognized Power program.

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(chattering)

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<v ->We knew we had a great school program,</v>

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here in state, but we also knew that we needed to advocate

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for better services.

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What are we gonna do when the school program ends?

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And that's really where Autism Delaware started

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to really shine.

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<v ->I wanted to get a job, because I'm a grownup,</v>

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and I like being self-sufficient.

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Work makes me feel proud.

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Can you reach it?

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I get paycheck now, and it helps me be independent

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and buy what I wanna buy.

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<v ->I see Joey happier, he's busy, his mind is busy,</v>

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his body is busy.

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It's been a huge change for him, a big change for him.

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<v ->Just one paper towel, right?</v>

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<v ->Our adults with autism, we wanted to give them</v>

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a great place that they could work, in the community.

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What Power's mission is,

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is to provide five day a week fulfillment of jobs

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or recreational opportunities for these individuals.

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<v Narrator>Today, thanks to Autism Delaware,</v>

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there are 151 Power participants

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working in 92 local business.

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<v ->You know, my biggest concern,</v>

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how can we fund these things,

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year after year after year?

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<v ->I hope that Autism Delaware is able to continue</v>

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to grow services, grow programs, not only for our kids,

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but for thousands of kids across the state.

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<v ->I've known Artie my whole life.</v>

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He's just a wonderful guy and I'm grateful

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for what Artie's done.

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<v ->If you would've told me, 10 years ago,</v>

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that we'd be sitting in Ethan's house,

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and he's working at Grotto's,

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and he's working at these other non-profits,

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and he's really operating independently

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of his mom and dad,

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I would've told you you're full of bologna.

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I never could foresee this much success for him,

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because of Autism Delaware, it's possible.

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(hands slapping)

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<v ->Crushed it.</v>

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<v ->What Artie has brought to Autism Delaware,</v>

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you can't see it, he didn't build a wing to a hospital,

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he didn't build a playground.

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The evidence of his work is in families like mine.

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(light music)