FOUNDER’S STORY
Why A Fresh Pen Exists
Everything changed the day the doctor picked up a pen.
In just a few moments, a word was written on paper—a diagnosis—and suddenly the future felt uncertain. What once felt open and full of possibility now felt fragile, filled with questions no one could fully answer.
Our child was three years old when we received an autism diagnosis.
➤ That pen felt heavy.
➤ It felt final.
➤ It felt like a story had already been decided.
But as time passed, something became clear: the diagnosis did not define our child—it revealed them. It didn’t close a chapter; it marked the beginning of a new one.
And yet, everywhere we turned, the world seemed unprepared to meet our child where they were. Programs weren’t built for them. Sports felt inaccessible. Communities often lacked understanding.
The problem wasn’t our child—it was the systems around them.
That realization became the foundation for A Fresh Pen.
We founded A Fresh Pen with a simple but powerful belief: while a diagnosis may be written with one pen, a child’s future deserves a fresh pen—one that writes possibility instead of limits, and tells a story of confidence, movement, belonging, and joy.
A Fresh Pen was created not to change children, but to change experiences—to create programs where autistic and neurodivergent children are supported, understood, and celebrated for exactly who they are.
Because children don’t exist in isolation. Their success depends on the world around them.
A Fresh Pen exists to remind families that their child’s story is still being written—and that the next chapter can be full of hope.