Kris Hamburger Is Building a Faster Lifeline for Families Navigating Autism Care

For many families raising children on the autism spectrum, the most painful challenge is not the diagnosis. It is the wait.

In the United States, access to autism services is governed state by state, filtered through a maze of agencies that determine eligibility, reimbursement, and timelines. For parents who urgently need applied behavior analysis therapists, occupational therapy, specialized schools, or in-home support, the process can take months. In some cases, families are told to wait as long as six months before care is approved.

Kris Hamburger knows that delay all too well.

“The system is almost designed to wear people down,” Hamburger explains. “A lot of families give up, and honestly, that is what the state is expecting. If people stop pushing, they do not have to pay.”

That reality did not sit right with him or his partner. Rather than accept it, they decided to build something different.

Hamburger is the founder of a nonprofit organization known publicly as A Work in Progress, officially registered under the name Hope Aims Spectrum. The organization was born from personal experience. Hamburger is the father of an autistic daughter who is now turning eight.

Early intervention is widely considered critical in autism care, with many specialists emphasizing that the most meaningful progress often happens before children reach eight or nine years old. Hamburger and his family were fortunate to begin services early. But as he immersed himself in the system, he realized most families do not have the same resources, connections, or flexibility.

“What started as learning how to help my own child became something much bigger,” he says. “It stopped feeling like charity. It became a purpose.”

A Work in Progress operates on a simple but powerful model. Instead of waiting for state approval, the nonprofit fronts the cost of care immediately.

That includes ABA therapy, occupational therapy, specialized education, and other services a child may need. While families are often forced to wait months for approval and reimbursement, the nonprofit steps in so therapy can begin right away.

Parents are spared the financial panic that often accompanies the diagnosis. More importantly, children do not lose critical developmental time.

“When parents are stressed about how they are going to pay for therapy or school, they are not fully present,” Hamburger says. “You cannot be as aware or engaged with your child when you are constantly worried about money.”

The organization also handles the administrative process. Once the state begins reimbursing services, those funds cycle back into the nonprofit, allowing it to help additional families. Over time, the state assumes responsibility for ongoing care, and the nonprofit steps back.

Hamburger describes it as creating an on ramp. Immediate access first, long term stability second.

In addition to domestic support, A Work in Progress is exploring innovative treatment opportunities abroad through partnerships with facilities in the European Union, Costa Rica, and soon the United Arab Emirates.

These programs include advanced therapies, some involving stem cell research, that are not yet available in the United States. Families participate in intensive multi-day sessions designed not only to support the child but to deeply educate the parents.

“The goal is to empower parents,” Hamburger explains. “They are still parents, but they also become more informed and more effective in how they support their child day to day.”

For now, the organization is focusing these international programs on girls with autism, based on both personal experience and guidance from medical partners.

A Work in Progress operates on a simple but powerful model. Instead of waiting for state approval, the nonprofit fronts the cost of care immediately.

That includes ABA therapy, occupational therapy, specialized education, and other services a child may need. While families are often forced to wait months for approval and reimbursement, the nonprofit steps in so therapy can begin right away.

Parents are spared the financial panic that often accompanies the diagnosis. More importantly, children do not lose critical developmental time.

“When parents are stressed about how they are going to pay for therapy or school, they are not fully present,” Hamburger says. “You cannot be as aware or engaged with your child when you are constantly worried about money.”

The organization also handles the administrative process. Once the state begins reimbursing services, those funds cycle back into the nonprofit, allowing it to help additional families. Over time, the state assumes responsibility for ongoing care, and the nonprofit steps back.

Hamburger describes it as creating an on ramp. Immediate access first, long term stability second.

In addition to domestic support, A Work in Progress is exploring innovative treatment opportunities abroad through partnerships with facilities in the European Union, Costa Rica, and soon the United Arab Emirates.

These programs include advanced therapies, some involving stem cell research, that are not yet available in the United States. Families participate in intensive multi-day sessions designed not only to support the child but to deeply educate the parents.

“The goal is to empower parents,” Hamburger explains. “They are still parents, but they also become more informed and more effective in how they support their child day to day.”

For now, the organization is focusing these international programs on girls with autism, based on both personal experience and guidance from medical partners.