Krystle and Chas Hanchey of Port Charlotte know the autism service maze firsthand. Their daughters, Morgan, 13, and Miranda, 9, were both diagnosed with severe nonverbal autism around age 2. Krystle withdrew Morgan from public school in 2021, saying the system pushed her children out of real instruction. The family describes a life of long drives to Sarasota or Lee County for therapies, plus waitlists that stretch on and on.
Charlotte County schools point to a 2022 Florida law that now allows Registered Behavior Technicians on campus, and the region has seen progress, including Golisano Children’s Hospital in Fort Myers becoming Florida’s first certified autism hospital in 2023. But families say progress and access aren’t the same thing, especially as kids move into their teens and early intervention years fall behind them.
So the Hancheys launched Support on the Spectrum, a nonprofit aimed at becoming the local resource hub they say government and municipalities haven’t delivered. It’s a parent-led answer to a community gap, and it raises a bigger question for the Suncoast. What’s missing in your neighborhood, and who should be stepping up? Tell us your story in the comments or call in.
