College Living Experience Receives $12,000 Award to Provide Scholarships for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- College Living Experience (CLE), a national organization founded to help students with special learning needs achieve post-secondary education and independent-living skills, today announced that the Brian & Patricia Kelly Scholarship Fund through Autism Speaks has awarded CLE with $12,000 to use toward scholarship funding for students enrolled in the CLE program.  Along with this initial $12,000 award, CLE will dedicate another $13,000 from its budget to create a scholarship fund totaling $25,000 that will be available to students in the 2014-2015 academic year.  Scholarship awards will go toward CLE tuition.

Stephanie Martin, president of CLE, commented, "We are honored to be recognized by Autism Speaks and the Brian & Patricia Kelly Scholarship Fund as one of only 11 recipients for scholarship funding.  This scholarship award will enable CLE to make our educational and life-skills program more accessible to a greater number of students.  2014 marks our 25^th year of helping students with unique learning challenges.  Through our individualized programming, students learn to work independently to achieve their personal post-secondary education goals that can include four-year college degrees, associate degrees, or diplomas in vocational training.  With the additional funding contributed from CLE's own budget, we are committed to making educational and life-learning skills attainable to those students who would not otherwise be able afford our program." 

Brian and Patricia Kelly, the founders of the Brian & Patricia Kelly Scholarship Fund through Autism Speaks, have a son with autism, and they are eager to use their scholarship fund to promote awareness of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), also known as pervasive developmental disorders (PDD).  Their fund goes to support and assist four-year and two-year colleges and universities, vocational and technical schools, and transitional programs like CLE that help students continue their learning and career training and develop life skills for successful and self-fulfilling independence.     

"In celebration of our 25^th anniversary," added Amy Radochonski, vice president at CLE, "the Autism Speaks Scholarship award could not have come at a better time for the CLE organization.  On a regular basis, we speak with families who have been faced with the high cost to support their son or daughter's education and supplemental needs.  As a result of this award, there will be a tremendous impact made on the lives of many future CLE students and their families."  

Details on the application process for scholarships for the 2014-15 academic year will be made in March 2014 on the CLE website at http://experiencecle.com and through other CLE social media forums.

About College Living Experience

2014 marks the 25^th anniversary of College Living Experience (CLE) providing post-secondary support to students with autism, Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, and other exceptionalities contributing to special-needs learning.  CLE develops an individualized support program tailored around the unique learning challenges of each student.  Founded in 1989 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, CLE now provides support and services covering academics, independent living, social skills, and career development in five additional metropolitan areas across the United States serving over 250 students every year.  Each CLE location in Austin, Texas; Costa Mesa, California; Denver, Colorado; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Monterey, California; and Washington, DC offers these pillars of support while students attend the higher education program of choice, including local community colleges, vocational schools, and universities.  The evolution and innovation of CLE is defined by the organization's mission to reach beyond the boundaries of traditional support systems to provide new opportunities to families and students with special learning needs. For more information about CLE visit http://experiencecle.com.

SOURCE College Living Experience (CLE)