Autism Support Unit - ASU LLC

Every dollar donated to Autism Support Unit is helping move the Calming Unit project forward.

For families like ours, a trip in an ambulance can be overwhelming, frightening, and filled with sensory challenges. The Calming Unit was created from real-life experiences and a simple question:

How can we make emergency transportation safer and less traumatic for individuals with autism and sensory sensitivities?

Thanks to your generosity, we’ve already raised over $1,000 toward making this vision a reality.

This isn’t just about a piece of equipment. It’s about dignity, understanding, and helping first responders better serve members of our community who experience the world differently.

Every share, donation, and word of encouragement brings us one step closer.

Thank you for believing in this mission.

To the local heroes who have supported us along the way, please make sure to check them out as well!

MoDo Mochi Donut & Bubble Tea
Ana Perez, Realtor - Bob Wayne Realty Group - Nebraska Realty
Bee Me Sensory Gym
SoulFull Cocina
Bradley Bonbons
Honest Abe's
Liam's Journey
Autism Services of Lincoln
Senator George Dungan

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Support ASU Calming Unit - Autism Support Unit Help us create a mobile sensory-safe calming room to support children with autism during moments of crisis. Your donation will fund the purchase, renovation, and equipment for the ASU Calming Unit — a first-of-its-kind resource bringing peace and safety to families in need.

Tonight we officially crossed our first $1,000 raised for Autism Support Unit.

That may not sound massive to some people, but to us it means everything.

It means people believe in this mission. It means families are being seen. It means our community is showing up in ways we never expected.

Every share, every donation, every conversation, every local business supporting us, every parent who has reached out… it all helped get us here.

What started as advocacy through our journey with Liam is slowly becoming something much bigger than us.

Thank you for believing in ASU. We’re just getting started. 💙

My name is Chris Szydelko, founder of Autism Support Unit - ASU LLC and father to a child with autism.

The reason I started building the vision for the Calming Unit is because I know firsthand how overwhelming chaos, sensory overload, and crisis situations can become for individuals with autism and other disabilities.

The Calming Unit is designed to serve as a calming and desensitization space during moments of crisis for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, PTSD, dementia, and others who experience severe sensory overwhelm.

Right now, we are only $93 away from reaching our first $1,000 toward purchasing the ambulance that will become the future Calming Unit prototype.

If 93 people gave just $1, we would reach this milestone together.

Every donation matters.
Every share matters.
Every person helping push this vision forward matters.

Thank you for believing in what we are building through Autism Support Unit.

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WE OFFICIALLY BROKE $900!

We are now at $907 raised toward the first stage of the Calming Unit project through ASU.

What started from some of the hardest autism-related moments as parents is slowly turning into something real for families who need sensory relief and safety during overwhelming situations.

Every donation, share, prayer, conversation, and word of encouragement is helping us move closer to that mission.

Thank you for believing in us and believing in this project.

Special thank you to MoDo Mochi Donut & Bubble Tea, Bee Me Sensory Gym, Ana Perez, Realtor - Bob Wayne Realty Group - Nebraska Realty, Bradley Bonbons, and SoulFull Cocina for supporting us and believing in this mission from the very beginning along with every private donation and post shares!

Next stop: $1,000.

If you’d like to help support the mission:

Support ASU Calming Unit - Autism Support Unit Help us create a mobile sensory-safe calming room to support children with autism during moments of crisis. Your donation will fund the purchase, renovation, and equipment for the ASU Calming Unit — a first-of-its-kind resource bringing peace and safety to families in need.

Last night reminded us exactly why we say, “It takes a village.”

Because of everyone who showed up, shared the event, donated, prayed, ate amazing food, and supported the mission, we are now at $897 raised toward the first $7,000 stage of The Calming Unit project.

We want to give a huge thank you to SoulFull Cocina for not only helping us get closer to this goal, but for welcoming us with open arms and leading with faith, kindness, and community. Partnerships like this matter more than words can explain.

This project is deeply personal to us and to so many families who understand what sensory overload, public meltdowns, and isolation can look like. The Calming Unit is about creating safety, dignity, inclusion, and relief for individuals with autism and sensory needs.

As we always say, it takes a village… and this village has not let us down.

One dollar.
One share.
One movement at a time.

And because of all of you, this vision is that much closer to becoming reality and making a difference in someone’s life.

If you would still like to support the project, donations can be made here:
https://square.link/u/17U4i0zQ?src=sheet

Thank you for believing in this mission with us. 💙

Support ASU Calming Unit - Autism Support Unit Help us create a mobile sensory-safe calming room to support children with autism during moments of crisis. Your donation will fund the purchase, renovation, and equipment for the ASU Calming Unit — a first-of-its-kind resource bringing peace and safety to families in need.

🚨 DINNER PLANS: SOLVED 🚨

Staring into the fridge hoping a meal magically appears?
Too tired to cook?
Kids acting like chicken nuggets are a food group again? We got you.

Tonight from 6–8 PM, come out to support Autism Support Unit (ASU) at Soulfull Cocina and enjoy some seriously delicious food while helping support a great cause!

Every meal helps support the vision behind The Calming Unit, creating sensory-friendly support for individuals with autism and special needs in our communities. 💙

So skip the dishes, grab some amazing food, and come hang out with us tonight!

📍 SoulFull Cocina
6105 Havelock Ave, Lincoln, NE
⏰ 6 PM – 8 PM

Can’t make it but still want to support the mission? Donations can be made here:
https://square.link/u/17U4i0zQ?src=sheet

Good food + good people + a good cause = the perfect excuse not to cook tonight.

Support ASU Calming Unit - Autism Support Unit Help us create a mobile sensory-safe calming room to support children with autism during moments of crisis. Your donation will fund the purchase, renovation, and equipment for the ASU Calming Unit — a first-of-its-kind resource bringing peace and safety to families in need.

Every once in a while, an idea comes along that has the power to truly change lives.

For us, that idea is The Calming Unit.

Right now, families across our communities are struggling through sensory overload, public meltdowns, transportation barriers, and crisis situations without the support or environment their loved one truly needs. We know this because every single week, Autism Support Unit receives messages and emails from parents, caregivers, schools, and community members asking the same thing:

“When will this become real?”

The truth is — we are trying with everything we have to make it happen.

The Calming Unit is being designed as a sensory-friendly emergency response and transportation vehicle for individuals with autism and sensory sensitivities. A safe, calming environment during moments that can otherwise become traumatic, dangerous, or overwhelming.

And now we need the community behind us.

Because ideas like this do not come to life from one person alone. They happen when an entire community decides it matters.

We are currently at $750 raised toward our first major goal of $7,000 to purchase an ambulance platform and begin the build process for our first prototype unit.

We want to sincerely thank:

• Bee Me Sensory Gym
• MoDo Mochi Donut & Bubble Tea
• SoulFull Cocina
• Bradley Bonbons
• Ana Perez, Realtor - Bob Wayne Realty Group - Nebraska Realty
• And every single individual who has donated, shared, encouraged, and believed in this mission so far.

You are helping build something bigger than a vehicle. You are helping build dignity, safety, understanding, and hope for families who often feel unseen during their hardest moments.

Now we are asking for help on a much larger scale.

Here’s how YOU can help make this real:

• Donate — even $1 truly matters and moves us closer.
• Share this post — visibility is everything right now.
• Bring this idea to your workplace or business.
• Host a fundraiser.
• Sponsor a portion of the build.
• Donate materials, labor, or professional skills.
• Help us connect with companies, organizations, first responders, or community leaders who may want to partner with us.

This project has already shown there is a real need. The messages we receive prove that.

But to move from vision to reality, we need people willing to stand beside us and say:“This matters. Let’s build it.”

If enough people come together, we genuinely believe this could become something that changes how communities support individuals with autism during moments of crisis and overwhelm.

Please help us take the next step.

Donate. Share. Advocate. Connect us with others.

Let’s bring The Calming Unit to life — together.

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Big update for everyone supporting the Calming Unit project.

Thanks to the incredible support from MoDo Mochi Donut & Bubble Tea and everyone who participated in their fundraiser, we are now up to $750 raised toward our goal of obtaining an ambulance for the Calming Unit.

We are beyond grateful for every donation, share, kind word, and business willing to stand beside autism families in our community. Seeing local businesses rally around this project means more than we can put into words.

And we’re not done yet.

Our next fundraiser will be with SoulFull Cocina on Wednesday, May 13th from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM. We would love to see everyone come out, grab some amazing food, and continue helping us move this project forward.

Every step gets us closer to creating a safer, calming space for children and families during moments of crisis and sensory overload.

Thank you all for believing in this mission.

Support ASU Calming Unit - Autism Support Unit Help us create a mobile sensory-safe calming room to support children with autism during moments of crisis. Your donation will fund the purchase, renovation, and equipment for the ASU Calming Unit — a first-of-its-kind resource bringing peace and safety to families in need.

Yesterday marked the final day of the Hope Donut fundraiser with Modo Mochi Donuts, and we just want to take a moment to say thank you.

To everyone who stopped in to grab one, shared our posts, or helped spread the word, you showed up in a big way. Support like this is what keeps Autism Support Unit moving forward.

A huge thank you to the entire team at MoDo Mochi Donut & Bubble Tea for dedicating an entire month to this fundraiser. Your willingness to partner with us and give back to the autism community means more than we can put into words.

And to the individual who generously donated $100 last night, thank you. Your kindness truly makes a difference.

Because of all of you, we are now at $440 raised out of our $7,000 goal to obtain the ambulance for the Calming Unit project.

If you would still like to support, you can donate here:
https://square.link/u/17U4i0zQ?src=sheet

This is what community looks like

Support ASU Calming Unit - Autism Support Unit Help us create a mobile sensory-safe calming room to support children with autism during moments of crisis. Your donation will fund the purchase, renovation, and equipment for the ASU Calming Unit — a first-of-its-kind resource bringing peace and safety to families in need.