Miny Ortiz
Bilingual Family Support Specialist
What I do at TAP:
As part of the Family Support team, I help families and individuals living with ASD. I work with families in both Spanish- and English-speaking communities. I deliver parent-specific trainings (e.g. our Parent to Parent Series) and trainings for everyone who supports a child: parents, professionals, and community members. I am also part of the Parent College in Central Falls; I teach an 8-week series on ASD and related conditions. I am passionate about bringing information to parents, because as I say “When you have a child with an ASD it doesn’t matter what language you speak. When we learn to speak "autism", our lives improve because now we understand how to help”.
One fun fact about me is:
I married my childhood sweetheart! We have been married for over 30 years. We have 5 great kids and a collection of over 100 nutcrackers that we display during the Christmas season. It’s much more fun to take them out the boxes than putting them back in January (ok, sometimes February).
My professional bio:
The way I arrived at this career was an unplanned journey. I first learned about The Autism Project after my son was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and we were looking for social skills groups. Over 3 years ago, I was asked to join the Family Support team after managing my husband’s medical office and being a stay at home mom for over 20 years. I have since received a lot of training in the field in addition to my personal experience. In my time at TAP, I've become a Certified Community Health Worker (CCHW) and trainee in the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND).
