Joplin Couple Donates $3 Million to Rebuild Local Autism Center

JOPLIN, Mo. — Holding back tears, Amanda Dillard explained how the instructors at the Ozark Center for Autism had helped her autistic daughters, Reagan and Savannah, progress in ways she never dreamed possible.
On Tuesday, she told Bill and Virginia Leffen, of Joplin, that their donation of $3 million to fund the rebuilding of the center means more to the parents of autistic children than just the construction of a building.
“This donation gives us hope,” she said. “I can’t say enough about that.”

Ozark Center for Autism Plans to Rebuild After Joplin Tornado

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Families whose children get some of the best autism services available are scrambling for help after a prominent treatment facility was destroyed in the tornado that ravaged the city of Joplin last month.
The Ozark Center for Autism, which has a national reputation and draws families to the area, offers hands-on, intensive therapy at an early age. The program had recently added a diagnostic team and was slated to expand with services for adults, including vocational training. But the May 22 tornado that pummeled the city, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds, demolished the center.
It has relocated to an indoor skate park on the outskirts of town until it can move to another temporary facility closer to its previous location. But fewer families can easily reach the current location, and while Ozark Center staff members have increased their number of home visits, they are concerned that some children could see their progress halted.