BUTTE — "So this is kind of trying to help her break out of her shell a little," said Amber Lundquist, the mother of Ava.
Ava has autism so when someone she doesn’t know begins speaking to her, she has a hard time responding. This stand is supposed to help her, as well as raise money for her and her brother to enjoy some summer activities.
"Girl scouts, Ridge Waters, I also have some other things I want like Legos," said Ava.
Ava is also raising money for a membership to the Museum of The Rockies.
Autism won’t stop her from running her business.
According to the CDC, more than 3.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder.
About 1 percent of the world population has autism spectrum disorder and the prevalence in the United States is estimated at 1 in 54 births.
At Ava’s lemonade stand you can buy cookies, lemonade, iced tea, and even snow cones.
Her first day, Ava’s parents had funded the stand with just lemonade, sweet tea, and cookies. By the end of the day, Ava had made $185.
"We ran out of cookies by 2 o’clock. By the end of the day at six o’clock when we shut down, she had paid us back. We went to Walmart, she paid for everything that’s here today." said Amber.
Ava invested the leftover funds back into the stand.
"This is all her. This was what she wanted to do. Being a low-income family with three kids, it’s hard for us to afford summer activities and so she wanted to do this so she could pay for her summer activities." said Amber.
Ava's lemonade stand will be outside Auto Zone on Harrison Ave., Monday through Friday until 6 p.m.
