amarillo chamber of commerce - HPN Books

credentials, is a Board Certified BehaviorAnalyst. With a B.A. in psychology, aMasters of Education in special educationMaria is a sought-after expert in her field.She focuses on neurobehavioral disorders,including those on the autism spectrum,ADHD, dyspraxia, emotional disturbancesand any behavior or learning disorderwith a neurological basis. She’s evenauthored two books on the subject, ToiletTraining for Individuals with Autism andBehavior Disorders and A Treasure Chest ofBehavioral Strategies for Individuals with Autism,both available from Amazon.comFor it’s pioneering autism services and somuch more, the list of awards and accoladeshanded to STS is long and growing. STS wasrecognized by the Amarillo Chamber ofCommerce with the Jim Henson Top SmallBusiness Award of 2010; ranked among theTop Small Businesses of 2010; awardedEmployer of the Year in 2010 by TexasBusiness Women's Group; and Day herself wasvoted Regional Business Person of the year in2011 by the Small Business DevelopmentCenter. Most recently, STS was named amongAmerica’s “Inner City Top 100.”These days, Karen Day is still dreaming.She’s planning for the future and what STS willlook like 100-years from now. But in the not-sodistantfuture, Day intends to continue to addrevolutionary therapy services, grow her facilityas funds become available and provide her kidswith a warm, nurturing place where they’llalways be included and they’ll learn the skills tohelp them not just exist—but to thrive.Nancy Embry Hanna Helping Hands is thenamesake charitable organization inspired bya woman who devoted much of her life tohelping people. The nonprofit, founded in2010, develops unique programs for thespecial needs community. Hanna passedway November 14, 1999 after suffering fromcongestive heart failure. Her sister, KarenDay, President of Specialized TherapyServices started Helping Hands as a memorialto Hanna and in honor of her children.Specialized Therapy Services playshost to the agency by providing inkindservices such as office spaceand staff.Helping Hands is a TechnologyDemonstration Site for the Universityof Texas at Austin in conjunctionwith the Texas Center for DisabilityStudies. The Assistive TechnologyAccess Program promotes independencefor people with disabilities bygiving them barrier-free access totechnology. The program providesand maintains a statewide network ofsites for demonstrating assistive technologysuch as computer equipment, adaptive toys,and other devices. The University of Texasprovides training to Helping Hands staff sochildren and adults can have a local place toexperiment with adaptive equipment such asalternative keyboards. Experimentation is usefulto see if the equipment is something theycan buy to assist them in their daily lives. Theservice is free to the public; funding comesfrom a federal grant.HELPINGHANDSQUALITY OF LIFE189