Verona resident and his grandson find way to help chidlren with autism
The Autism News | English
Verona resident Salvatore Ferruggia and his grandson have gone into business together.
They’re building birdhouses for children; specifically, those with autism.
Building birdhouses has been a hobby of Ferruggia’s for about 15 years. He would make them for friends and relatives.
When Ferruggia first noticed his grandson holding a hammer at the age of 2, while Ferruggia assembled his swing set, sparks flew.
“He looked like a two-year-old who knew exactly what he was doing,” Ferruggia said. “We formed a partnership from there.”
Ferruggia, a retired elementary school teacher, had friends and neighbors who had autistic children in their family. He wanted to do it for them, and his grandson, who also goes by Sal.
Autism is a developmental disorder that affects one in 110 children and one in 70 boys, according to the organization Autism Speaks. Symptoms appear in early childhood, often in the first three years of life.
More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined. Autism is also the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S., according to Autism Speaks.
“(Sal) is such a warm-hearted kid, who shows an affinity for autistic kids, or kids in need. He is aware some kids have things other kids don’t,” Ferruggia said. “I said to him, why don’t we make birdhouses and give them to autistic kids or something of that nature?”
“I thought about when I help the children feel better and when the school sells the birdhouses at their fundraisers, it can help the autistic kids,” said Sal, a third-grader at South End School in Cedar Grove.
They started the “Salvatore Ferruggia & Salvatore Ferruggia Partners Company.”
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