Michelle Volner

Shelly Volner is a proud mother of two, a columnist for an Orange County online magazine and a part time personal assistant to her parents. Her mother is fellow Autism Care Today board member, Sandy Stone.

​Shelly graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a B.S. Degree in Agricultural Business and a minor in Psychology. She has worked in an administrative management capacity in the auto and real estate businesses, food and floral industries as well as an assignment working for the non-profit wing of the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington D.C. Needless to say, Shelly is proud to say she has done a little of everything!

​When Shelly’s son Will was diagnosed on the autism spectrum at the age of two, she and her husband became vigilant in locating resources to help him along what was sure to be a challenging journey. After 12 months of various neurological testing, their son’s diagnosis was ruled a mis-diagnosis and recategorized as a speech and language delay. Two and half years later they would go through an almost identical process with their daughter Nancy. Shelly and her husband feel as though they only merely dipped their toe into this pool called “autism” and feel overwhelmingly blessed that their children’s challenges could be remedied by weekly speech therapy classes and a year of ABA therapy for their daughter. Most families with this diagnosis are not as fortunate and it is because of this they are so passionate about helping other families that are living, eating and sleeping with this developmental disorder. She hopes that during her lifetime she can witness the extinction of new cases of autism, but until then she is dedicated to Autism Care Today.