Doug Flutie Jr Foundation for Autism

Doug Flutie is best known as a professional NFL player. He is currently retired, but is considered one of the best quarterbacks the NFL has ever had. At least, he is according to my father. It was my father that told me about Doug Flutie and that he has a son that is autistic. He also told me that Doug has a foundation that he set up to help raise autism awareness and to support families.

The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, co-founded by Douglas and Laurie Flutie in 2000, named after their son, has done a lot of good by having a direct impact on our families and our children. In 2009 they received 166 grant applications and were able to approve 29 for a total of $379,766.00. This money went to organizations to provide social skills training, law enforcement education, recreational activities, direct family supports and more.

Laurie Flutie has also implemented a new program to put computers into the hands of autism families that otherwise would not be able to own one. “Computers are given to families of children with autism who could not otherwise afford to pay for them and to autism-specific classrooms for the sole use of children with autism and their teachers.” This is a relatively new program and is only available for residents in New England, New York, and New Jersey.


The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism has two big events scheduled already for next year. The first is their annual bowling tournament on January 11th, 2010. It will be held at the Lucky Strike Lanes in Boston. General Admission tickets are $75. Food and beverages are included in this cost, but not the cost of bowling.

“You're not too late to become a sponsor of this very exciting event! For questions about sponsorship opportunities, please email Kerri Kennedy-Blume at kerri@flutiefoundation.org.

The Foundation is also seeking unique auction items for this event. If you have something that you would like to donate to the Foundation for our auction at this event, please email Chris Chirco at cchirco@flutiefoundation.org.”


The second is the Autism Update Conference:

“Thursday, April 8th, 2010
Save the date for this annual conference organized by the Flutie Foundation and Children Making Strides! The conference will once again take place at the Sheraton Norwood in Norwood, MA.”

For updates about the conference, visit their website and keep checking back as they will be adding information as it becomes available.


I tried to get a quote from either Doug or Laurie about the new autism rates, but they were not available. I asked the foundation’s public relations representative, Jamie Giller “if the new rates are going to mean any changes with what the foundation is doing?” Her response was "At this time, the Foundation will continue to pursue it's mission statement which seeks to support families affected by autism spectrum disorder.” You can read their complete mission statement is below.

“Our mission is to support families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. We are committed to increasing awareness of the challenges of living with autism and helping families find resources to help address those challenges. We provide individuals with autism and their families an opportunity to improve their quality of life by funding educational, therapeutic, recreational and advocacy programs.”