Michael Knouse Special Needs Trust

My Brother, Michael Knouse, is a 32-year-old man with Autism. He was properly diagnosed as a child after much debate with psychiatric care givers. My Mom knew that he wasn't just a "bad kid." She knew something was wrong with her child and, at that time, Autism diagnoses were rare. Many of the programs in place today for Autistic children are a result of the battles fought by parents like my Mother, who struggled to find proper care for their special needs children.

As many know, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders go hand-in-hand. Mikey's severe OCD limits his ability to function and make decisions on his own. This is why he lives in a facility with 24/7 in-house care. The organization to which he belongs does transport him and supervise shopping and entertainment trips. Like anywhere, staffing issues and scheduling conflicts often arise. This can be very troubling and stressful for him as a result of his OCD. His Autism inhibits his ability to reason through and cope with these issues the way you or I could. Having money available for him would mean that making alternate plans in a hurry would be possible and go a long way toward relieving that stress.

The things my brother enjoys are not luxurious or lavish. He likes a good pair of sneakers that won't "squeeze his feet." He likes to take monthly trips to music stores so he can browse and sometimes purchase CDs. No, we haven't been able to convince him of the wonders of digital music. And anyone who knows him knows how he loves to visit local amusement parks like Kennywood and Sandcastle each summer.

Mikey does have a low-paying job, thanks to Life'swork here in Pittsburgh. It is best for him to work because it helps to fill his time. The vast majority of his income and his Social Security Disability pay goes to his housing and care.

The purpose of starting this Special Needs Trust is to have money set aside for his care in the event of health and medical changes, housing changes (fingers crossed that this won't happen, but you never know), and to free him fromfinancial stress if he wants to go to a movie,or a waterpark, or just buy a CD. These extraneous monetary burdens typically fall to my parents. They are happy to help, but are currently struggling financially. My father continues to battle cancer and Mom is working hard to run her own business in addition to caring for him and her special-needs son. In a way, I am doing this for all of them.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story and we so very much appreciate any contribution you wish to make! 100% of the funds we raise from T-shirt sales and other donations will be used for legal fees in opening the trust and the remainder will go directly into the trust!