Transition Age
Want to learn more about Employment Training and Supports?
Autism Connections provides individualized job exploration, training, and coaching for adults with autism.
Milestones partners with other community experts to provide individualized job exploration, training, and coaching.
Pathlight’s Employment Supports provides work-related and social skills training that results in meaningful paid work and volunteer placements.
Are you interested in life skills, sexuality education, and self-advocacy?
Autism Connections holds social skills groups for teens.
Family Empowerment can help families find local social groups and self-advocacy classes.
The Milestones program offers an innovative Boundaries and Relationships class as well as a host of social skills classes.
Whole Selves is an innovative sexuality curriculum that includes social skills of relationships.
Looking for evening or weekend fun? Got a ham in the house?
Whole Children offers weekly classes for teens. Programs include performing arts, movement-based classes, social skills, sexuality, Pokemon, martial arts and much more.
Autism Connections runs recreation programs in the community. Contact us for a schedule.
Milestones offers one-hour weekly classes for teens and young adults. Programs include performing arts, movement-based classes, social skills, cooking, martial arts and much more.
Would Advocacy Support be helpful to you?
Autism Connections supports families in their efforts to advocate for funding and services within schools, community programs, and other human service programs.
Family Empowerment runs a series of workshops throughout the year to help parents be the best advocate for their child.
Do you need a break?
Call Family Empowerment to find out what respite services are available to you and your family. Hampshire County families may be able to get stipend money to cover respite.
Are you looking for an Autism Specialist?
Autism Connections is the autism expert in western Massachusetts. Autism Specialists with expertise in resources, behavioral and communication issues, teaching strategies, and community inclusion help families and individuals with autism identify priorities, plan supports, and address skill development and behavior issues.
Are you seeking social opportunities and networking?
For those with autism, Autism Connections offers a wealth of social groups, sensory-friendly activities, and networking groups.
Milestones holds Café Nights where adults can come hang out with friends, dance to live music, and eat home-cooked meals.
Family Empowerment offers family support groups as well as family-friendly gatherings.
Whole Children holds regular dances and game nights for teens.
Are you seeking a day program?
Milestones Day offers an innovative community-based day program where participants focus on self-advocacy, job skills, social skills and community-building.
Would you like information, referrals, and resources?
Family Empowerment offers trainings and workshops on topics across the lifespan.
Autism Connections offers trainings and workshops on topics across the lifespan.
Are you looking for age specific classes and activities?
Whole Children holds afterschool and Saturday classes for kids and teens ages six and up. Programs include performing arts, movement-based classes, social skills, sexuality, Pokemon, martial arts and much more.
Milestones offers weekly classes for teens and young adults. Programs include performing arts, movement-based classes, social skills, cooking, martial arts and much more
Learn About Other Lifecycle Phases
Support Innovation
Pathlight was the first organization in Hampden County to support people with developmental disabilities and their families. We founded the first nursery school, then the first developmental day school in western Massachusetts. Pathlight later established the first community residences in Massachusetts and the first Family Based Living options for individuals and families.
We didn’t stop there. Pathlight expanded services to include programs that strengthen the whole family. Autism Connections was founded as a parent-run program for children with autism, the first autism resource center funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Family Empowerment, a family program that supports individuals and their families joined Pathlight. In 2010 Whole Children, also founded by parents, joined Pathlight and offers a wide range of innovative after-school, weekend, enrichment programs (including Whole Selves, a groundbreaking sexuality curriculum started in 2018). Milestones, an individualized program for adults opened a few years later.
Recognizing that technology may enable people with disabilities to live more independently, we have partnered with Valley Venture Mentors to support entrepreneurs developing technology solutions for people with disabilities.
We have no intention of stopping. We promise your gift will contribute to the ongoing innovation of programs and services for people and their families.
