Kate DeVane: ‘We provide a helping hand’

Island Autism Group helps kids with disabilities and their families forge their own path.

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Kate DeVane knows how essential the need is on-Island for services related to autism and other developmental disabilities. 

Island Autism Group (IAG) was formed in 2008 by DeVane and Marcy Bettencourt — both have children with autism.

IAG is a benevolent nonprofit corporation that helps individuals and their families overcome some of the obstacles created by developmental disabilities.

Since its inception, IAG has helped children on-Island with autism and other disabilities access extracurricular programs, in-school support, and technology that is necessary and beneficial for their development. 

“What we really do is provide a helping hand through childhood and the adolescent years, and hopefully prepare kids for adulthood,” DeVane said. “The value that IAG provides in this community is immense.”

DeVane said that when her son was 4 years old, he was diagnosed with autism. He transitioned into Project Headway, a play-based preschool that serves kids with and without disabilities.

“That was such an incredible program, but it’s for children ages 3 to 5, so kids can only stay in that preschool for so long,” DeVane said.

DeVane wanted to fill the gap between preschool and adult programming for people with disabilities, so she founded IAG.

“We try to make our programs as accessible as possible. It’s largely a community service, considering it’s practically free, at just $10 a day,” DeVane said. “We receive support from many generous donors, but we also do fundraisers, like Artism for Autism and a few others.”

According to DeVane, the IAG programs are designed to give kids with disabilities the same opportunities as typically functioning children.

“When my son was young, he couldn’t play on a youth soccer team, he couldn’t go on certain field trips, and was held back from a lot of experiences,” DeVane said. “It takes a lot of effort and assistance to create these opportunities for kids with disabilities, especially if they are severely disabled.”

One goal of IAG is to create a comprehensive support system for all ages. DeVane said the entire purpose of the preschool program is to give kids the necessary tools to progress through their development from child to teenager, to adult.

The IAG programs are, according to DeVane, fully integrated with other services at the high school and Island elementary schools. She said after kids are moved through the IAG programs, they often enter the Best Buddies program at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. IAG also works closely with the Unified Sports program to give students the opportunity to represent their town or their Island.

But the program isn’t just for kids with autism or related disabilities — DeVane said she welcomes all children, and stressed the importance of a mixed classroom.

“We want to have a good mix of kids, both with disabilities and without,” DeVane said. “We won’t deny anyone a spot; all are welcome.”

DeVane said it’s difficult to operate a nonprofit on Martha’s Vineyard, but noted the supportive community members and organizations that make IAG possible.

“We’ve been trying for five or six years to get our own space. We would like to have a hub where all children with disabilities and without could come to interact and spend their time,” DeVane said. “We want a centralized location where all the resources we provide can exist together.”

One day soon, DeVane said, she hopes IAG will have their own space, but for now they do most of their programming at the Edgartown library.

“The Edgartown library has helped us so much by allowing us to use their kids’ room, but we are hoping to eventually have our own centralized location with things like a housing component for staff, a kitchen and workshop area for programming, and much more,” DeVane said. 

Part of the helping-hand philosophy DeVane said is an integral part of IAG is working directly with parents of kids with disabilities to support them as well. “We support the entire family, because all disabilities can be very hard on the family unit as a whole,” DeVane said.

IAG is also working on programming for ages 18 to 25 so that people with disabilities don’t feel lost after leaving the public school system.

DeVane said that after age 22, people who are enrolled in special programming for disabilities must leave the public school system and start their adult lives. 

“You need to have a plan in place. It is very difficult for anyone to acclimate to life after school, especially someone who has autism or a similar developmental disability,” DeVane said.

“We want to establish hobbies and interests in kids when they are younger, so that when they are old enough to get a full-time job, they have those necessary tools, and are well-prepared.”

DeVane said IAG has already grown exponentially since it started, and is excited to see where the organization goes in the future.

“I know we will just continue to grow and expand our reach to Island kids and adults with autism and other disorders,” DeVane said. “Our ongoing goal is to provide as many opportunities as we can to our Island.”