Autism Delaware’s Tomara Williams earns national certification

Tomara Williams, a family navigator with the Kent-Sussex office of Autism Delaware, has been awarded the prestigious credential of Certified Family Peer Specialist by the National Federation of Families.

By fulfilling the extensive training requirements and passing the national certification examination, the Milford resident joins a growing team of family support professionals who have earned the certification as part of Autism Delaware’s commitment to best practices serving families with loved ones on the autism spectrum.

Williams has been with Autism Delaware since 2019, when she began the rigorous certification pursuit. She completed a course of study that included 1,000 hours of hands-on work with families and nearly 90 hours of training in five core competencies.

As a family navigator, she is the first line of contact for families in need of services and resources, and she plays an essential role in Autism Delaware’s innovative Autism Care Team Program. This evidence-based approach provides one-on-one peer support to families as they navigate the complex systems of services and providers for families affected by autism.

Since she is the parent of a young adult with autism, Williams’s experience raising a child on the spectrum brings added perspective and skill to her work. Her son Kevin was diagnosed at age 2 1/2 and attended the Sussex Consortium, part of the Delaware Autism Program, until he graduated at age 21.

Today, with the help of Autism Delaware’s adult vocational program, POW&R – short for Productive Opportunities for Work & Recreation – Kevin is gainfully employed at the Central Delaware Speech-Language Pathology office in Lewes.