New Autism Program Underscores Need

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- The years of work that went into the Hospital for Special Care's plan to open an autism center gave officials there a sense of the need for services. But the demand hit home the morning after a local newspaper detailed the New Britain hospital's plans.
"We got a phone call by 9 o'clock from a dad," said Lynn Ricci, the hospital's senior vice president for administration. "People are really desperate for some help with this."
It was hard, Ricci said, to not be able to tell the man his child could be seen the next day, but the program isn't expected to open until later this winter.