Las Vegas Mom Stephanie Chung, Whose Two Children Have Autism, Started a Nonprofit That Sends a Team Into Classrooms to Teach Students About Autism

When her oldest child was diagnosed with autism, Stephanie Chung of Las Vegas felt isolated and did not know where to turn. Years later, the mother of three, two of whom have autism, runs a social group for other mothers raising neurodivergent children and has started a nonprofit whose team goes into local classrooms to teach students about autism, KLAS 8 News Now reported in a story published on Yahoo Life.

The nonprofit is called the Schools to Schools Inclusion Project. Its team teaches students about autism and about how to play with neurodivergent classmates.

A diagnosis that left her searching for other parents

Chung’s oldest son was nonverbal in early childhood, according to the station. After years of therapy, she says he is doing much better. Her youngest child uses a speech device. The report does not give the children’s names or ages.

Autism is common. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 1 in 31 children, or 3.2%, has been identified with autism spectrum disorder by age 8, based on data from its Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. The estimate covers the 2022 surveillance year, for children born in 2014, and the page was last updated in April 2025. The agency describes the condition as a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.

The CDC’s page on signs and symptoms lists examples such as not responding to a name by 9 months, using few or no gestures by 12 months and not pointing to show interesting things by 18 months. It adds that people with autism may have none, some or all of the signs, and that some people without autism show a few of them.

Beyond the Spectrum Moms

Chung started Beyond the Spectrum Moms, a social media group for mothers raising neurodivergent children and adults, KLAS reported. The group offers a safe space to connect, with playdates, family outings and self-care days, and members support one another.

Chung told the station she believes a person must take care of herself mentally, physically and emotionally to be a great parent.

The article does not say when the group began or how mothers can join, and it does not name the people on the nonprofit’s team.

A team that visits classrooms

The second project is aimed at children rather than parents. Chung launched the Schools to Schools Inclusion Project as a nonprofit, and its team visits classrooms in the area to teach students about autism, KLAS reported.

Pediatric guidance gives a sense of why that matters. The American Academy of Pediatrics, through HealthyChildren.org, describes autism as a complex developmental condition that can affect a child’s behavior and social and communication skills, and says it varies widely in how it affects children, is increasingly linked to genetics and has no single known cause. Individualized plans that combine developmental, behavioral, educational and social-relational strategies can help in meaningful ways, the page says.

The CDC notes that treatments can be given in education, health, community or home settings, or a combination, and that approaches range from speech and language therapy to social skills groups. The agency’s overview of autism treatment lists social-relational approaches such as Social Stories and social skills groups, which focus on social skills and emotional connection.

Educational approaches such as TEACCH adapt classroom structure and use visual supports, based on the idea that some autistic people learn best with consistency and visuals, the CDC says. Developmental therapies include speech and language therapy, the most common, and occupational therapy to build daily living skills. The agency also states that no medications treat the core symptoms of autism, though medications may help with related issues such as anxiety, sleep problems or seizures.

Inclusion at a young age can look simple. Parent Diaries earlier reported how four Milford, Massachusetts, teens asked a 7-year-old with autism to play after he sat alone at a trampoline park, and the teens played with him for 40 minutes. Chung’s team teaches students how to play with neurodivergent classmates, the same kind of skill those teens showed.

Early support and what families can do

The AAP recommends that all children be screened for autism at their 18-month and 24-month well-child checkups. It says starting an intervention program as early as possible can improve outcomes. The CDC advises contacting a child’s doctor with any concerns about development.

For families already living with a diagnosis, Chung’s work offers two kinds of help. One is peer support among mothers, with playdates and outings that make a hard stretch less lonely. The other is education for other children, so that a classroom of neighbors knows how to include a student who communicates or plays differently.

The CDC’s signs page also notes that restricted or repetitive behaviors can include lining up objects and becoming upset when the order changes, repeating words or phrases, hand flapping or body rocking, and unusual reactions to sounds, smells, tastes, looks or textures. Parents who see such patterns in a classmate’s child, or their own, can begin with the child’s doctor.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: WiinterU – CC0 1.0/Wikimedia Commons