Achievements Unlimited

Achievements Unlimited (AUSTL) is a Missouri Non for Profit established in 2012 which provides services to adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. We operate a day program Monday through Friday from 9 to 3 pm year-round. The program is designed to help our clients improve their ability to communicate and to function more independently in our community. In doing so, it also benefits families and other organizations that provide residential care for our clients by giving them a respite from having to provide such care while the clients attend our day program.

Some of our clients come to us as they age out of services offered by the Special School District of St. Louis County. SSD provides valuable services to individuals with various disabilities, but only up until age 21. At that point there are often few options for families to choose from to care for their children. AUSTL is one of those options.

Many people have heard the word autism before. Unless you have a family member or close friend who is impacted by it, you probably have a limited understanding of what it means. Even family members are sometimes baffled by what autism means and how it affects their loved ones.
At AUSTL, our focus is on the behavior and the communication of clients who have autism and other developmental disabilities. Some of our clients are either non-verbal or have limited verbal abilities. These limitations often result in challenging and severe behaviors as the individuals deal with the frustration that comes from the inability to express themselves. These behaviors may result in harm to others or to the clients themselves. Our clients may also have other behaviors that are inappropriate and make it difficult for them to interact with members of the community.

We have a highly trained staff dedicated to our mission of helping these clients modify their behaviors through various therapies. These behavioral modifications allow our clients to function more fully, more safely, and more independently in our community. Our staff is therefore the key to our success. As such, it is critical that we have the resources to attract and retain highly motivated individuals with the training, skill and compassion needed to serve our clients. As most of our revenues come from government funds, it is a challenge to pay our staff a competitive rate, along with health care and retirement benefits. We must therefore seek charitable donations to supplement the government funding.

We currently serve 24 clients and have a staff of about 20 full time and part time employees. Since 2012 we had operated our program in St. Louis County at 9510 Page Avenue in Overland. In 2019, we renovated a building that we purchased in Bridgeton at 3575 Pennridge and is now our primary location.

What Makes AUSTL Programs Stand Out?
Achievements Unlimited's purpose is to enable and increase independent functioning, physical health and development, language and communication skills, socialization, community integration, domestic and economic management, and functional skills development. A cornerstone of the AUSTL approach is "micro-enterprise". A micro-enterprise is a small business started by AUSTL clients or a volunteer activity that takes place on the AUSTL campus but directly benefits the outside community.

On-site Microenterprises and Service Projects:
Throughout the years AU clients have had opportunities to participate in their own individual projects as well as group projects as outlined below:

Legos~Procuring, processing, and selling legos online to area collectors.

Magazines~Procuring, processing, and donating magazines to area agencies in an effort to promote literacy.

Gift Baskets~Assembling Gift Baskets: Homemade gifts for sale and donation to shelters, nursing homes, mental health clinics, and hospitals.

Hygiene Kits~Assembling Hygiene Kits for the homeless and others in need for organizations such as; Salvation Army, Adult Rehabilitation Center, Gateway 180, and Project Backpack.

Art~Participants are engaged with local artists to create sellable works of modern art. We haveshown in galleries, juried shows, universities, cafes, and have competed and won regional competitions. We also maintain a home gallery at our Bridgeton location.

Although COVID temporarily halted our ability to conduct Off-site Projects and Partnerships we historically have worked with ReFresh-Resale shop benefiting foster and adoptive coalition; ReLeaf-nursery and Arboretum; Habitat for Humanity Restore; Kingdom House resale shop benefiting low income Saint Louisans; Bridgeton meals on wheels; MO House Rabbit Society's "Bunny House": St. Louis Animal Control; and Gateway 180 homeless services. We are anxious to return to these incredible opportunities now that we have begun our outreach volunteer opportunities again.