The Owen Foundation

07/26/2025

We look forward to meeting with all of you interested in joining Elevate this season on Sunday. This meeting will be for the parents/guardians of the athletes but all are encouraged to bring your athlete along to spend time with our existing cheerleaders. 🩷💜

07/24/2025

Check us out in magazine in the “City Scene” section.

07/24/2025

You can’t mention “ABA Therapy” these days without being met with, “It’s abuse,” “Your child will hate you,” or “Educate yourself.”

But ABA therapy is not torture. It’s not ableist. It’s not conversion therapy.

Charlie isn’t in therapy because I want to make him “normal.” He’s in therapy because he deserves to learn how to communicate, stay safe, eat, get dressed, and use the bathroom with dignity.

Autism is a spectrum. Some autistic people can navigate the world with little help. Others, like Charlie, need full-time support just to meet basic needs. Refusing to teach them in the name of “acceptance” is cruel.

I’m not ready to accept that Charlie’s thoughts will stay locked inside him forever. Or that he’ll never understand danger. Or that he’ll never use the bathroom independently.

Until there’s no hope left in me, until forever, we’ll keep working with him to work for him.

And if that makes me a bad mom to you, I’m okay with that.

07/22/2025

Thank you, Ellen Sewell for sponsoring our ALL-INCLUSIVE Camps for 2 years in a row, in Memory of the late, Captain Jeff Sewell. 🤎

Our camps are always free to children with Autism and Extra Needs and they receive lunch both days of camp, snacks and water, a camp t-shirt, a camp medal and certificate as well as a basketball.

Needless to say, none of that would be possible without the generosity of our sponsors and community partners.

Thank you, Ellen, for spreading love, kindness and happiness to our special community!

07/21/2025

07/20/2025

Mark your calendars for July 27th. All parents and guardians of athletes interested in joining Elevate are encouraged to attend. We will answer all of your questions at that time. We look forward to many new faces and families. 🩷💜

07/20/2025

Awareness is the starting point. Not the enemy.

They say “just accept autism.”
But how do you accept what you don’t understand?

My son is 12. He’s autistic. Profoundly.
He can’t speak. He can’t write. He can’t type. He runs into traffic. He swallows non-edible items. He smashes things…everything.
He needs round-the-clock care, and he always will.

And yet, when I try to talk about it, I’m told I’m being negative. That I’m not “accepting” him.

But here’s the truth:
Acceptance without awareness doesn’t help him.
It doesn’t get him an AAC device.
It doesn’t clear the waitlist for therapy.
It doesn’t give me respite so I can breathe.
It doesn’t teach him how to keep himself safe.

We can love our children exactly as they are and still fight for their needs to be seen, supported, and understood.

So yes…acceptance matters. But awareness is the starting point. Not the enemy

07/17/2025

Thank you, First United Bank, for sponsoring our ALL-INCLUSIVE Basketball Camp for 4 years in a row!

Our camps are always free to children with Autism and Extra Needs and they receive lunch both days of camp, snacks and water, a camp t-shirt, a camp medal and certificate as well as a basketball.

Needless to say, none of that would be possible without the generosity of our sponsors and community partners.

Thank you, First United Bank, for spreading love, kindness and happiness to our special community!

07/15/2025

🏀 🎉 Basketball Awards from our 2nd annual basketball camp last week!

🏀 🎉 Thank you again to ALL of the cheer coaches, volunteers and sponsors who made this possible!

*I believe we got pics of everyone, but please forgive me if anyone is missing from photos and post their photo in the comments so I can add it to the post. Thank you!

07/15/2025

📣 🎉 Cheer Awards from our 2nd annual cheer camp last week!

📣 🎉 Thank you again to ALL of the cheer coaches, volunteers and sponsors who made this possible!

*I believe we got pics of everyone, but please forgive me if anyone is missing from photos and post their photo in the comments so I can add it to the post. Thank you!

07/13/2025

Summer break is almost over. Elevate season 3 will start in a few weeks. Do you know someone that would be interested in joining us? We have some exciting updates coming out soon. 👀🩷💜