Spectrum Autism Support Group has been an answer — an answer to a community’s need for support and an answer to fervent prayer.

Executive Director Claire Dees personally experienced how much support parents of children with autism need and how many opportunities individuals with autism are missing. She’s also realized how some individuals with autism can struggle to feel like they belong.

“My son, Blake, was autistic and nonverbal,” Claire shared. “He required somebody with him all waking hours because of his challenging behaviors and safety issues since he was unable to communicate.”

While advocating for Blake’s needs through the school system, Claire connected with another mom, forming a partnership that would ultimately impact countless families.

“This single mom talked to the autism director at the school who had become good friends and a valuable partner with me as we worked as a team to support Blake’s complex needs,” she said.

The single mom had her own child with autism and was looking for a support group at the school. The autism director saw the need, offered a space for the group and connected Claire and the mom. 

In October of 1998, the two women hosted their first Spectrum Autism Support Group meeting, and over 100 people attended, showing there was definitely a need for support in Gwinnett County!

“Every month we brought in local speakers to talk about behavior challenges or speech and communication or self-care, whatever we thought was helpful for parents,” Claire said. “Then we started doing family events, realizing that a lot of families are socially isolated and just need to connect with other families in a judgment-free environment.”

As Spectrum began to expand and equip more families in the community, Claire’s own family experienced an unexpected tragedy when Blake suddenly passed away from a heart attack at 23 years old.

After Blake’s passing, Claire decided she needed to continue serving the autism community. 

“It’s become my passion and purpose to help other families, and I feel it’s a part of Blake’s legacy that I continue the work. When I drive up to our building every day, I think that if it weren’t for Blake, none of this would be here. I wouldn’t be doing any of this,” she said. 

Claire’s involvement grew from volunteer to executive director as she expanded Spectrum’s services, even catching national attention.

“We were on the Emmy Award-winning Netflix show Love on the Spectrum in season 2,” she explained. “We do a speed dating event called Table Talk to help teens and adults make friends, and a lot of people have found us because they saw the event on the show.”

Through opportunities like these, Spectrum is helping adults with autism find meaningful community. 

“After high school or college, some go back home without a job or lack social connections.  They can feel socially isolated, lonely and even depressed,” Claire said.

“With Spectrum’s social clubs, individuals now have opportunities to hang out, play board games and video games, watch movies and just have a group where they feel like they belong and people understand them.”

Since June of this year, Claire has been partnering with Perimeter Church’s Kingdom Investments with a $50,000 matching grant to upgrade Spectrum’s sensory-friendly playground. The Benches for Belonging campaign launched on August 3, giving the community an opportunity to purchase a bench with a plaque for $2,500 to support the matching campaign and provide seating for parents and caregivers.

“Most playgrounds are designed for up to age 12. But ours is very interactive with musical instruments and all kinds of equipment for not just children but for adults and teens on the spectrum — like hammocks, bench swings and platform swings. We have a fire pit and outdoor lawn games,” she explained. “We want to keep our playground sensory-friendly, ADA-compliant and available for all ages and abilities.”

Spectrum has a year to raise the funds with the matching grant, but Claire hopes the community will help meet that goal by the end of 2026.

“Awareness is there. We’re focusing on acceptance now — accepting people who are different and understanding how to include them,” Claire said.

“We have an opportunity to share the love and acceptance of God to people who feel marginalized, who don’t feel accepted or who don’t feel like they can go to church.”

Claire loves having the opportunity to partner with local churches to help them launch special-needs ministries or assemble sensory toolkits that make places of faith more accessible for people with autism. 

She also loves when she gets the opportunity to encourage and sometimes pray over parents navigating a child or family member with autism.

“Sharing community resources is one thing we do every day. When we meet homeless moms with children with autism who come in, we can refer them to Rainbow Village right across the street, and I can embrace them, let them know we’re here for them and say, ‘How can I pray for you?’” Claire shared.

“My own faith has been built in the last few years by seeing God’s hand and his work.”

As Claire was looking to purchase Spectrum’s building and run a capital campaign, she turned to community changemaker and businessman Clyde Strickland for advice and prayer.

“I told him, ‘I just want you to help me pray over this place, that if it is God’s will for us to have this place, we will be able to raise the money. That this place would bring peace and calm to people with autism and high social anxiety.’”

Throughout the capital campaign and eventual building purchase, Claire has seen those prayers answered.

“There were little ‘God stories’ where I could see God was faithful as we were faithful in prayer.”

Through donors and foundations who believed in Spectrum’s mission and the power of prayer, Claire and her team are able to continue expanding Spectrum’s services so children and adults across the community feel they belong.

Join Spectrum in sharing support for the autism community by donating to their fund!