Welcome to Giant Steps!
We are so happy to introduce you to Giant Steps. Our autism-specific environment has opened a world of possibilities for our students. As the number of individuals affected by autism reaches epidemic proportions, Giant Steps remains committed to meeting the growing needs of the autism community.
Giant Steps is a five tiered organization that focuses on autism education, training, therapy, recreation, and adult services. Our therapeutic day school serves over 150 students from 56 different school districts. We use an autism-specific approach that emphasizes inclusion and independence. Our Autism Training Center continues to offer opportunities for advocacy by allowing us to provide autism specific training for staff working in public venues (United Center, Navy Pier, The Field Museum, etc.) School districts, care providers, families, legislators and first responders. Our therapy program and after-school “Rec Center” extend support services to families outside of the classroom. We are also proud to introduce “Canopy” to provide services for adults over the age of twenty-two.
Giant Steps was started in 1996 by a group of families looking for alternative education for their children with autism. Since then, we have grown into a leading center for autism education, therapy, and services to support people with autism throughout their lifetime. We are committed to meet the changing needs of our students and families by continuing to challenge our organization. We have come a long way since our humble beginnings, but through the generosity of kind donors and the unyielding dedication and compassion of our highly trained staff, we continue to pursue unlimited possibilities for autistic people.
Thank you for taking an interest in Giant Steps. I hope you will be impressed by the uniqueness of our program, the commitment of our staff, and most importantly, our amazing students and parents. At Giant Steps, we are passionate about our work and our mission to provide each student with an opportunity to maximize his or her potential.

Dr. Sylvia Smith, Executive Director

Day School

Canopy

Christine's Dream

Riley Center

![GiantSteps-logo-[Serving the Autism Community]](https://mygiantsteps.org/wp-content/uploads/GiantSteps-logo-Serving-the-Autism-Community.png)