Who is Help Autism?
HELP Autism is a Romanian organisation providing comprehensive support to children and youth living with autism and their families — from diagnosis and therapy to school integration. Help Autism entered Marc with the social franchise, a program which was fully developed by the internal team and the external consultant. They developed the franchise manual, contract and budget forecasts for the first 5 years. So, the program was ready to be launched. But still, they wanted to make sure that internally they had the knowledge and wisdom to foresee unpredictable scenarios that might affect the good implementation of the first franchised therapy centers.
Help Autism meets Marc
They benefited from the mentorship sessions led by Sonia and Zoltan, whose expertise brought significant value to the development process. Their insights helped design a dedicated mentorship program for future franchise applicants who may not pass the initial selection phase. Keeping them engaged allows Help Autism to nurture their potential and expose them to real-life experiences from launching the first therapy centers and securing funding, preparing them for future opportunities within the Help Autism network.
Help Autism made clear progress in the development of their onboarding and mentorship structure for future franchisees. They created a tailored onboarding program and an individualized coaching system for pre-franchisees to maintain their motivation and help them set realistic expectations, especially regarding the challenges of launching a therapy center. A key driver of this development was their focus on nurturing the growth potential in aspiring entrepreneurs, helping them align with Help Autism’s mission and empowering them to make a lasting contribution to their local communities.
Key Results
Help Autism has already signed three franchise contracts. The first therapy center will open in Bucharest, and will have 12 therapy rooms, allowing them to support approximately 50 children per day through personalized interventions delivered by a team of specialists in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, speech therapy and physical therapy. This marks a significant step toward scaling their impact and ensuring access to quality therapy services in more Romanian communities.
