The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism was established by NFL quarterback Doug Flutie and his wife, Laurie, in honor of their son, Doug, Jr. who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. Doug and Laurie are fortunate to have the resources to provide their son with the educational opportunities, special equipment and tools necessary for Doug, Jr. to live a happy and rewarding life. They realize, however, that there are thousands of families of children with autism who struggle every day to pay for similar services. Their primary objective is to provide families with a place to turn when they are in need of support and autism resources.

Doug and Laurie first began raising funds for autism in 1998 through a donor advised fund, under the management of the Giving Back Fund. In 2000, they established the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, Inc. as an independent foundation to continue this work. Since 1998, the Fluties have helped raise over 10 million dollars for autism through corporate and individual donations, fundraisers, endorsement promotions featuring Doug and Doug Jr. as well as sales of Flutie Flakes and other related items.

The Foundation awards grants on an annual basis to nonprofit organizations that provide services for children with autism and to organizations that conduct research on the causes and effects of autism. To date, the Fluties have given over $5 million for grants and programs in New England, New York, New Jersey, southern California, at the national level, and in Canada. The Foundation, in a partnership with Hewlett Packard and Mindshare Collaborative, has also distributed over 350 computers to underprivileged families of children with autism and their school districts in New England and New York.

Doug Flutie, Jr. was born on November 29, 1991. Up until the age of 2 1/2 he seemed to be developing normally and spoke in almost full sentences. Then the Fluties noticed a gradual change in Dougie; he seemed to be regressing. He went from speaking in sentences to phrases, then to single words. Eventually he lost all speech. At the age of three he was diagnosed with Childhood Disintegrative Disorder or CDD. CDD is a rare form of autism with little information known about it. One difference between children with CDD from many other children with autism is the presence of affection. While many people with autism avoid human contact, Dougie welcomes it.

Doug and his wife, Laurie, stated that: "When we first learned Dougie had autism, we thought 'what do you mean, autism? We can't have a child that has a problem.' But after a while, you learn that it could be much worse. You have to think that it's really not that bad -- Dougie is great. At first, it was hard to take, but we have to accept Dougie for who he is. He always has a smile on his face, and when he walks into a room, he brings a smile to your own face. He has many qualities about him that are special."

Today Dougie is non-verbal, but has been progressing well since his diagnosis. He attends school 5 days a week and has a tutor that works with him after school and on Saturdays. He receives speech, occupational and physical therapy, and also receives a combination of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and other learning techniques that are unique to Dougie's personality. For example, Dougie communicates well with actual photographs and the family takes pictures wherever they go.

One of the Flutie's goals in starting the Foundation is to raise awareness about autism and, in turn, actively do something to help Dougie. It's also important to them to help raise money to go towards research, and to assist the organizations that help families who need the extra things that help make life easier with a child who is autistic.