AACF, Inc.'s Story

Aid for Autistic Children Foundation, Inc.™ was founded by musician Michael Buckholtz, who is diagnosed with high-functioning Asperger's Syndrome and OCD. He and his family experienced the financial disaster of coping with autism. In 1992 the family agreed, through much investigation, that Michael, his brothers and father, all had varying levels of autism. It wasn't until Michael's nephew was recently diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome that he decided to create a non-profit dedicated to assisting families financially. Michael Buckholtz' desire to ensure that poor families and individuals coping with autism get a level playing field financially, comes largely because of seeing his own family struggle to make ends meet. He knew that other families were experiencing the same thing. Together with his family and close friends, Michael founded AACF, Inc.

AACF Corporate Documentation, click here.

Our Program

The AACF, Inc. "Debt Relief" program is administered in 3 steps:

1. Applicant Assessment -  Clients will have their debt evaluated through a detailed application process as well as an independent non-profit consumer credit counciling service or restructuring organization, working along with AACF, Inc.

2. Applicable Debt Solutions - AACF, Inc. will negotiate the client's reduction or deletion of debt directly with the creditors and settle them through the "Debt Relief" Trust.

3. "Kitchen Table" Economics 101 - AACF, Inc. will provide financial advice for our newly debt free clients. This will include, but will not be limited to, checkbook balancing, bill paying, Online banking tips, budgeting food, clothing expenses, auto maintenance, ATM usage, credit card management, keeping good financial records and basic tax issues.

To download our debt reduction application (PDF), click here.

Our Criteria

The qualifying criteria for this program can vary depending on one's personal circumstances. In light of the many financial complexities associated with arranging one's life to raise an autistic loved one, or an autistic adult who finds themselves in financial hardship, we've created an application that asks all the pertinent questions. Broadly, the key criteria is simple:

• A head of household or independent autistic individual needs to be facing extreme financial hardship. You must meet The 2009 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia, Alaska and Hawaii.

• The long term financial effects of directing more than three-fourths of one's net income towards autism care can force many to choose between continued care for their autistic loved one or shelter and nourishment.You must be above the National Debt-to-Income Ratio percentage for housing expense and above the overall Debt-to-Income Ratio percentage for maximum allowable debt.

• You must still have a steady stream of income.

What We "Don't Do”

We do not print out checks or give cash directly to individuals for past due bills or unforeseen emergencies. There are many city, county and state government programs, along with Easter Seals, Goodwill and The Salvation Army, that assist families with clothes, food, toys, a job, past due bills and even a vehicle. We do not pay for or endorse any therapies, medical care or specialized private education programs. AACF, Inc.’s mission is to provide financial relief designed to target debt a family has already incurred – debt directly (or indirectly) generated as a result of medical, educational, therapeutic and other ancillary expenses borne by a family caring for a child with ASD. Simply, this is a drastic form of debt consolidation, leading to a determination of debt reduction or relief, literally giving the family or individual a 'second chance' financially.

Message from Our Founder

I want to welcome all who are coping with autism. This mission is more than personal for me. This is a humanitarian effort of significant preportion. This is a comprehensivection to save thousands of children in our Autistic Communities across the nation. I believe if the hurdle of financial disadvantage is taken away from families coping with autism, many more autistic children will reach their potential due to the change in their environment . Autistic adults will be able to afford skills training and occupational therapy. I know that money is not the answer to the complex issues encountered as families cope with autism. Providing an environment conducive to the positive and specialized teaching of an autistic loved one is much more important. It simply takes some funds to accomplish part of this goal. These funds allow families to provide a comfortable and routine schedule. A routine is necessary for the teaching of someone faced with having to cope with autism for the rest of their lives. They need this time and scheduled routine in order to develop the skill set that will allow them to be productive and social members of today's society. That is my mission and I will not deviate from it. There are many of us, who are autistic, that have some special gifts. I just want to give those families coping with ASD a fair opportunity to help their autistic loved one without feeling like they need to make the choice between eating or proper therapy or physical care. For those of us with autism, this is too important to ignore. Our future ability to care for ourselves is at stake. Please... help us save the children.