Dear Friends: Our gratitude goes out to those who have made our progress possible. Your friendship, loyalty and good will have inspired us to meet the challenge of every new decade. The year was 1956. There were no facilities available to teach the multiply handicapped blind and severely retarded even the basic skills of daily living. There were only warehousing institutions. Among the countless numbers of anguished, frustrated parents, six parents were determined to find a way to make a better life for their children. As Robert Frost wrote, they”…

took the road less traveled by and that made all the difference.” And the road continues… Today, the AABR, with a devoted staff of five hundred, is dedicated to the principles of quality care and personal growth. They are sensitive to the special needs of the handicapped. They encourage while they teach, inspire where there is a hint of talent, praise their efforts, reassure their timid attempts and applaud their successes. We are determined that each person in our care reach their highest level of capability. Past reflections inspire us to future visions. Our ideology is “To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.” We look forward to the future with confidence and vision. Thomas McAlvanah, Executive Director.