When Dr. Howard Shane of Children's Hospital Boston told Roslindale's Marie Duggan more than a decade ago that her autistic son Michael had "the goods but needed the tools" to communicate, Duggan saw only one possible path to take.

She needed to help develop those tools.

Today, Michael is 20, and is able to communicate his needs through apps partially developed through Duggan's company, Technology for Autism Now (T.A.N.), a registered non-profit whose mission statement reads, "Improving the lives of children and families with autism through innovative technology needs."

To further the organization's goals the Technology for Autism Now's Winter Wonderland Raffle will be held on March 6 at Sophia's Grotto in Roslindale Village from 4-7 p.m.  There will also be a raffle table with some great items including an autographed Doug Flutie football, a Patriots' commemorative football, sports clothing, gift cards and more.

Last year Duggan led the 2nd Annual Ride for Autism, that saw motorcyclists ride from Framingham all the way to West Roxbury and hoped to raise more than $15,000 to go to Technology for Autism Now.

Duggan realized early on that she could help her son communicate using visuals and images, and her career path followed that revelation.

Starting early in Michael's life, Duggan began using images of household items to give her son a means to communicate.

"The more I worked with visuals, the more I saw I was getting through," Duggan said.

In 1998, Duggan provided her son with a touchscreen computer developed for disabled children, complete with an image gallery and software that allowed for words chosen on the computer to be read back in a sibling's voice. What shocked Marie was that within three years of Michael beginning to use the computer, he had begun forming grammatically correct sentences with the device.

Seeing how visual technology had aided her son, Duggan became an advocate for technology to aid autism and awareness of the disorder - which has seen a 300 percent rise in new-borns during the last 10 years - in Boston.

"I didn't accept that you could love him until you can't manage him," she said, referring to the belief that her son would eventually have to be institutionalized because of failure to communicate. "I made it my life's mission to advocate."

In the following years, she worked closely with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and the city, leading to a summit about autism funded by the city, developing a program for autistic students at West Roxbury High School (now the West Roxbury Education Complex) and integrating technology into these programs.

The use of technology also helped autistic students develop socially: non-autistic students were drawn to come hang out in the program, Duggan said, when they realized it was equipped with a Wii.

T.A.N., working with Boston educational media company FableVision, develops software to run on devices such as the iPad and mobile devices that will further aid autistic youth and their families. Duggan is the executive director and founder, and said she hopes to eventually spread the model throughout other cities and towns with aspirations of eventually going global. The company has received letters of support from M.I.T., Children's Hospital Boston, and other major technology and health based organizations in the area.

T.A.N. is currently selling raffle tickets to benefit the company. Tickets cost $100 and the winner, to be drawn at an event on March 6 at Sophia's Grotto in Roslindale Village, will walk away with a $10,000 prize. A second winner will win $1,000. The money will go to the development of application software and the development of T.A.N.'s website. Duggan is hoping the company will make $20,000 through the raffle.

"It costs a lot of money to develop these apps, but these kids need them," she said.

She would know best, having seen them serve her son first-hand.

Tickets can be purchased at Hercules Press, Wicked Sharp Ski & Snowboard, or West Roxbury Main Streets.  For more information or to purchase tickets online contact Marie Duggan at kidsarecool@me.com or call 617-435-2307.