Our History

Established in 1981, RRAF, was, in large measure, the creation of Sam and Rosemary Lapertosa. Their dream was to create a program that their own son with autism, Sam, Jr., could attend once he had completed high school. The Lapertosa's lobbied tirelessly for the funds necessary to begin providing day services.

In the fall of 1987 RRAF received an initial $55,000 grant from the State of Illinois. Day services began in earnest, beginning in a rented classroom at the former Mary Queen of Heaven parochial school in Elmhurst, IL. At the time, we were one of the first community agencies in the state to accept adults with autism.

As RRAF hit its stride. Sam and Rosemary both passed away within one year of each other. But, thanks to the solid foundation laid by the Lapertosa's and everyone else associated wtih RRAF, the journey they began continued.

In 1992 day services were moved to larger rental in Elmhurst, and another dream was realized in early 2001 when RRAF purchased and moved to a vastly improved site in the Village of Lombard. This site offered a kitchen area for meal prep, a laundry room, and a large backyard.

In early 2005 RRAF took possession of the building next door and needed remodeling was undertaken. This annex allowed for additional programming space, as needed.

In 2022 we closed our community based day program. Please check back for updates.