A company that has been providing products for those affected by autism has gone retail, Tim Murrill, chief executive officer, said.
National Autism Resources, founded in 2008 to help individuals dealing with autism as well as parents and supporters of children with autism, opened its retail store Monday in the front offices of its warehouse, 6240 Goodyear Road, in Benicia Industrial Park.
Murrill called Monday the “soft launch” of the store, which will have its grand opening Thursday.
He said staff members spoke to teachers in Benicia, Vallejo, Mount Diablo’s school districts and other areas before opening the store.
He said the National Autism Resources Retail Store lets visitors purchase the company’s most popular products — reading curricula, books and games that develop social skills, weighted vests that reduce anxiety, devices those who are nonverbal can use to communicate, and books with information to guide those who are caring for those with autism.
In addition to merchandise, the retail store also has staff who can direct clients or listen to them, because often they say they have no one to talk with about what they go through, Murrill said.
“They can talk to experts in autism,” he said. “It’s another way we can provide resources.”
The organization was founded by Bonne Arnwine, mother of an autistic child. She rejected the urging of those who suggested she have her son placed in an institution, Murrill said, and instead used her experience as a researcher to learn about various therapies to help her child.
This led her to write an award-winning book and then start a home-based business that has grown into National Autism Resources, which distributes products and tools throughout the United States and Canada, he said.
Murrill said clients can still order items off the company’s website, www.nationalautismresources.com. “But each child is a different story, depending on the spectrum they’re in.” Clients urged them to have a brick and mortar presence, “so we opened the store,” he said.
At the store, employees can guide clients to the products most appropriate for whatever the person with autism is experiencing, from trouble with reading to anger management.
The store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at 6240 Goodyear Road. Its phone number is 877-249-2393.
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