Benet Academy's Buddies share growth and laughter with Turning Pointe Family Respite Program

When Benet Buddies, a student volunteer group from Benet Academy in Naperville, put out the call for academy students to join the group and befriend students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, over 100 signed up.

Several of those students are acting as buddies at Turning Pointe Autism Foundation this academic year.

"Our kids are not worrying about tracking service hours, they don't volunteer because they have to, they do it because they want to," says Benet parent adviser Nanette Cote. "it's a learning experience for both sets of kids. It will move you to tears watching them all together."

Benet Buddies volunteer once a month on a Saturday as part of Turning Pointe's Respite Program designed to provide families of Turning Pointe students a few hours of free time while their children are in a safe and formative environment. Buddies are trained on "Autism 101" by Turning Pointe staff so they become familiar with some of the behaviors and social cues they will likely encounter.

"Respite is a time when Turning Pointe students can bond with our staff and be with peers in a more relaxed setting than school. Parents get time for themselves while knowing their children are in good hands," said Carrie Provenzale, executive director. "Most people don't realize how isolated families can feel when providing care to their children who are profoundly impacted by autism. Some children are still learning how to access the community safely and appropriately. It means families are often limited in their ability to be in the community performing the simplest of everyday tasks like shopping or eating out or spending time with their other children."

Benet Buddies spend time with Turning Pointe students and create friendships through games, movies and crafts, while exposing them to neurotypical teen social skills and interests.

"This is a great opportunity for the Benet students to share time and interests our students, and vice versa. Both sets of students can teach each other beautiful values, " Provenzale said. "The laughter between the kids is heartwarming to see."

Benet student Jack Ryan started volunteering with the program last year as a sophomore and now serves as secretary of the Buddies Student board, where he is gaining leadership experience.

"The first thing I tell volunteers is that as long as they care, they can do this job. We genuinely want to bring awareness to our school to build understanding of difference," he says. "I've worked with one nonverbal kid who's really active. He has his habits that he repeats maybe 800 times, but when I'm there with him he's so excited. It makes me happy to see him happy."

"Our students are not typically exposed to students with differences at Benet," Cote said. "This is an opportunity for them to realize they really are more alike than different. They get to treat others with such kindness, we're building compassion by taking away any stigma. These are just kids hanging out together being kids."

The Respite Program is just one part of the family support services Turning Pointe provides to families. The organization provides a full-time, certified family specialist to offer parents a comprehensive series of family supports, professional expertise and partnership with the local community. Seminars on issues including finances, medical care, and dealing with insurance and health care help parents navigate the intricacies of raising a child with autism.

"All of this comes at a cost," Provenzale said. "This year, thanks to our partnership with the Wolf Auto Group and Toyota of Naperville, we are raising funds to maintain and grow our family support program through our raffle for an $80,000 2023 Toyota Sequoia Capstone Twin Turbo V6 Hybrid SUV."

Tickets are $100 each and there will only be 2,000 sold.

"We like the idea of a family winning an extraordinary family vehicle while supporting extraordinary family support," Provenzale said.

Benet senior Brinkley Douglas, president of Benet Buddies board this year, says her takeaway after serving as a buddy to the students at Turning Pointe is a lesson we all might take to heart.

"It's not hard to pair up with the Turning Pointe students because we like a lot of the same things - hanging out, coloring, decorating pumpkins or making popcorn," she said. "You realize you can get along with others even if you're different. That's what I think we're all learning. It means a lot."

Fundraiser for Turning Pointe

Win a 2023 Toyota Sequoia Capstone Twin Turbo V6 Hybrid SUV ($80,000).

Raffle tickets are $100 each and available at

turningpointeautismfoundation.org/2022-toyota-raffle/. There will only be 2,000 sold.The deadline to order raffle tickets is 11:59 p.m. Dec. 13.The raffle winner will be selected at random on Thursday, Dec. 15, at Toyota of Naperville, 1488 W. Ogden Ave. You do not need to be present to win.