AP

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — The foundation of hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay is donating $1 million to a center in Michigan to help children with autism and their families, officials announced Wednesday.

Beaumont Health System said that the support from the Ted Lindsay Foundation will expand and create a new facility for the Hands-On Parent Education Center, which offers services for families of children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disorders.

"It's not just the child that has autism. It's the whole family that has autism," Lindsay said in a statement. "It's not a one-person thing."

Previously known as the HOPE Center, the facility is part of the Royal Oak-based health system's Beaumont Children's Hospital. In recognition of the gift, the Beaumont Health System is renaming the center as the "Ted Lindsay Foundation HOPE Center."

Lindsay played in the NHL for Detroit and Chicago. His foundation has supported autism research and programs for more than a decade.

In 2012, the foundation donated $64,000 to purchase electronic tablets and netbooks for the HOPE Center. The funding also provided autism treatment scholarships for children, and HOPE Center Director Lori Warner said the foundation's support has been important.

"They felt our passion and they wanted to support us in any way they could," she said. "We felt immediately energized because we knew they understood our mission."

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Online:

http://www.beaumontchildrenshospital.com/hope

http://www.tedlindsay.com