In Croatia, only one quarter of universities include academic service learning in their strategic documents. At the University North, this paper was created as part of an inclusive elective course in public relations and communication, which encourages the development of social, intercultural, scientific research and other professional knowledge and skills of students through the experience of active participation in local and wider community thus implementing the concept of academic service learning in the curriculum of future communication experts.. The purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper insight and a fuller understanding the experience of members of the therapeutic association in their institutional work with vulnerable groups, through their personal experience and perception of some formal and informal aspects of their institution's support. In this way, the aim is to contribute to greater visibility of programs and activities of good practice of various forms of institutional support in order to raise the quality of life of vulnerable groups and strengthen their opportunities for equal inclusion in community life. The paper presents the results of the student's qualitative research is conducted during June 2021 on a deliberate commemorative sample (N = 4; F = 4) of Therapeutic Association "Pogled" from Nedelišće, which deals with therapeutic work with children of different ages with autism spectrum disorders. The triangulation approach of the methods was applied, photovoice methods and semi-structured interviews were used, while inductive analytical procedures were used in data processing. At the level of this sample of respondents, the results obtained indicate how the experiential perspective of the respondents proved to be largely homogeneous in relation to identifying points of strength: intrinsic motivation, strong sense of community, focus to achieve goals and positive acceptance of work challenges. Weak point analysis puts emphasis on the need for enhanced cooperation with parents, but also on the need for loud identification still present social barriers. The purpose of the work is also realized in the social context useful learning and an increase in the social and cultural capital of students has been demonstrated researcher. The contribution of this paper is reflected in the greater visibility of institutional active resources in providing support and ensuring a good quality of life for vulnerable groups. Considering scarcity of research based on the experiential perspective of auxiliary professions, the results obtained in this sample can contribute to new insights in this area.