GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — When it comes to her passion for working with those with autism, Dr. Colleen Allen said she fell in love.

"As a clinician, I loved working with children with autism," she told 13 ON YOUR SIDE this week.

In fact, it's what led her to her current post.

"I wanted to grow my center," she said. " I wanted to bring families for therapies, and nobody had insurance to pay for it."

Allen now works as the president and CEO of the Autism Alliance of Michigan .

The core of their work, she said, lies in their free-of-charge autism navigator service.

"It's essentially a lifeline for families or individuals, you know, that are facing their autism journey," she explained.

"That can be, 'M y child is two years old and has just been diagnosed,' to, you know, we get y

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