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Hunter Duenas is six years old. This young boy is the inspiration behind what will be a multi-functioning center that services autistic individuals for the island of Guam.<\/p>\n
Vincent and Tanya Duenas, a doctor and nurse, respectively, cofounders of the nonprofit HunterSpeaks, and also Hunter\u2019s parents, beamed as they spoke of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can read at a second grade level, he can spell like anything,\u201d Tanya said. Vincent chimed, \u201cHe has a photographic memory. He\u2019s super bright.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tanya discovered that he fell on the autism spectrum after months of searching for answers. She noticed that he was different around 15 months and kept pushing to see specialists to diagnose him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you hear that diagnosis, I don\u2019t know, so many emotions go through you\u2026as a mother, you\u2019re like okay, now that we have this diagnosis, how do we get him help?\u201d said Tanya.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when the couple realized that services on Guam for autistic children are lacking. According to the Duenasas, the recommended amount of behavioral treatment for autism is 25 to 40 hours a week; such treatment is nonexistent on Guam.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of fighting the system, we needed to provide a solution. That\u2019s how we came up with this nonprofit,\u201d Vincent said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just saw a big gap that needed to be filled. We believe that Hunter was given to us for this specific reason,\u201d said Tanya.<\/p>\n
To start, they worked with a task force organized by Governor Calvo and a team to help steer them in a certain direction. They also met and partnered with an attorney, who helped them probono.<\/p>\n
Their non-profit, HunterSpeaks, began in 2016.<\/p>\n
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