Program areas at ASA
National programs:the Autism Society's national helpline provides information and referral services to connect the Autism community to the resources they need. From 9am-9pm est monday-friday, dedicated information and referral specialists connect with community members by email, phone, or web message to offer support, provide referrals, and share resources and tools. Through its national helpline and autismsource a national resource database, the Autism Society provides an essential service to those in the Autism community across the lifespan, from initial identification throughout adulthood. In 2023, the national helpline accomplished the following: -provided information & referral services to over 8,174 constituents by phone and email supported over 60,890 users through web-page resources.-provided over 5,800 hours of service to those in need of information and support.-maintained the autismsource database with over 30,000 national and local resource listings on www.autismsource.org, providing self-directed resource navigation to individuals based on location and area of need. Customer service responses -top areas of support issued include diagnosis (adults and children), intervention and therapies, and adults services.-47% of people who contacted the national helpline identify as a parent or caregiver to someone with autism.-19% of people who contacted the national helpline identify as an adult on the Autism spectrum.-14% of people who contacted the national helpline identify as professionals.-89% of individuals surveyed shared that they would contact us again and recommend the national helpline to family/friends.anonymous customer testimonials "i want to take the time to say thank you! Thank you so much. I was searching in the middle of the night one night to see where i could get help. All the information you provided is an absolute blessing. I'm grateful. My wife and my brother are copied on this response because care for my child is a family affair. I can't thank you enough." "wow, this is so much amazing information. I'm truly grateful. This is the beginning of my journey as a parent and hoping through education i can better support our daughter. Thank you for sending so many links and resources!" "i can't thank you enough for this really useful information that you've gathered for us so speedily and delivered exactly what you said you would. I'd also like to thank you for your listening in our phone conversation your understanding and support were exactly what i needed." National programs: through its national programs, the Autism Society of America provides education, training, resources, and opportunities for community engagement to address key areas of need within the Autism community. In 2023, the Autism Society expanded its impact through its safety, employment, and health equity initiatives. The safety on the spectrumthrough its safety on the spectrum: first responder program, the Autism Society of America is leading a national effort to promote safe and equitable interactions between first responders and the Autism community. Leveraging a "train-the-trainer" approach, the Autism Society will impact positive change at a national level through grassroots efforts and local leadership. Key accomplishments in 2023 include: -training development: the safety on the spectrum law enforcement training was developed in collaboration with first responders, members of the Autism community, parents, social workers, and local community leaders.-community engagement: the Autism Society of America served on a panel to address key issues in policing in the intellectual and developmental disabilities community at the police executive research forum. Team members hosted a 2-hour workshop at the 2023 project lifesaver conference and a police roundtable on locative technology at the international association of chiefs of police (iacp) annual conference. -resource development: emergency communication board through its safety on the spectrum: water and wandering program, the Autism Society is leading a national effort to increase water safety education and training across the Autism community. The program works to prevent wandering-related tragedies and increase water safety skills among autistic individuals and their families. Key accomplishments in 2023 include:-training development: the safety on the spectrum: accessible aquatics curriculum was developed to support a training program for swim instructors. The content and training were user-tested by leading swim instructors in classroom and pool settings.-community engagement: the Autism Society hosted virtual and in-person community education and awareness events, including a read-aloud of charlie makes a splash in collaboration with the hollyrod foundation.-resource development: water safety checklist and water social story.additionally, the Autism Society of America provides training and technical assistance (tta) to local sites across the country through the federal kevin & avonte program: reducing injury and death of missing individuals with dementia and developmental disabilities. In 2023, the Autism Society and its partners, the arc's nccjd and iacp provided leadership and community education and awareness with a focus on preventative programming and locative technology. This included an in-person roundtable on lived experiences with locative technology at the arc's national convention.employment initiative: the Autism Society's employment initiative strengthens connections between the Autism community, employers and other stakeholders through training and resource development to ensure that autistic individuals can achieve fulfillment through employment and have access to meaningful work experiences where their contributions are valued. Through this program, the Autism Society seeks to break down barriers, transforming the employment landscape, and promote best practices to foster a fulfilling approach to employment and create inclusive work environments for autistic individuals nationwide. Key accomplishments in 2023 include:-research: the Autism Society established an employment task force to bring together leaders at the intersection of Autism and employment across industries and experiences. The team examined and identified key themes and trends, promising practices, and gaps in current research to inform ongoing planning. Throughout the year, the team provided training to a variety of businesses to promote inclusion and Autism acceptance in the workplace. -community engagement: the Autism Society presented to and trained various organizations throughout the year to advance inclusion and Autism acceptance in the workplace. The employment team hosted a series of listening sessions to amplify community experiences, promote promising practices and models, and highlight a wide range of firsthand experiences, challenges, and aspirations.-resource development: in collaboration with the institute for community inclusion (ici) at umass boston, the Autism Society developed a competitive integrated employment for people with Autism spectrum disorder: a toolkit for professionals & advocates in the Autism community. The Autism Society developed additional resources to support higher education and workplace settings. The building college success guide provides tips on entering college and navigating administrative barriers, while the workplace advocacy and supports for autistic employees provides an overview of basic accommodations and inclusive supports. Health equity: vaccine education initiativethe vaccine education initiative (vei) addresses systemic barriers and promotes vaccine education, confidence, and access. Through the vei, the Autism Society strives to improve health by ensuring children, adults, and seniors with disabilities are included and supported within healthcare settings. Our vaccine clinic model has proven to increase accessibility, reduce stress, and improve outcomes. The Autism Society is rewriting the vaccine experience to increase accessibility, reduce trauma, and build connected, supportive, and inclusive communities. The Autism Society joined the aging and disability vaccine collaborative and worked to achieve the following accomplishments in 2023:-education and training: -trained over 5,000 healthcare professionals to provide accessible and inclusive care to patients with autism/idd. -hosted over 300 community events to promote health equity -reached 1,800,000 through education and outreach-accessible vaccine clinics: -supported over 750 accessible vaccine clinics -facilitated 29,263 vaccinations-resource distribution: -developed and distributed over 30,000 accessible vaccine kits communication boards -developed and distributed fact sheets, social stories, visual schedules, and other visual supports in english and spanish.
Public policy:in 2023, the Autism Society of America continued to meet with members of congress and the administration to educate them about the needs of the Autism community. Issues of greatest concern included special education services, research addressing the needs of those profoundly impacted by Autism, meeting the needs of those who need access to communication devices and education, wandering and water safety, training of law enforcement, and mental health responses to crises. The Autism Society policy team met with approximately 70 members of congress and their staff 50 days of the year to educate them about issues impacting Autism. The Autism Society also responded to requests for information from the administration and notices of proposed rulemaking from various agencies on disability issues. The public policy team educates our 70 affiliates and the public about policies being considered on capitol hill and in state legislatures and assists them in educating state and federal policymakers. Some of our advocates also attended the disability policy seminar in april. This event, co-sponsored by the Autism Society and seven other national organizations drew over 900 disability advocates from across the united states where advocates attended sessions on a variety of policies and then utilized the knowledge gained to engage in virtual and in-person meetings with legislators on capitol hill, effectively educating them about the needs of individuals with Autism. The Autism Society provided a booth at the national conference of state legislatures in Indiana. This provided the opportunity to educate state legislators about the needs of the Autism community.
Education and acceptance:in 2023, the Autism Society of America continued the ongoing efforts of ensuring that individuals and families affected by Autism received up-to-date information about issues to help advance their well-being. Our engagement campaign included:-provided daily facebook posts to over 657,000 facebook followers.-provided daily twitter posts to over 122,000 twitter followers.-116,000 people engaged with national's posts and content on social media.-social media engagements generated over $330,000 in financial support.-facebook and twitter saw over 4.4 million impressions.-distributed a monthly newsletter to over 100,000 people.-115,466 people connected to supports and services through our website.-69,248 people visited our "screening and diagnosis?" Resource pages.-approximately 900,000 people accessed resources and education materials through our websites-the Autism Society created educational content with goodnites, nickelodeon, and pura vida, shared digitally, through broadcast, and retail experiences respectively.
Affiliate services:the Autism Society services the affiliates daily by providing resources and guidance, delivering network-wide and affiliate specific training, providing lunch and learns and various development and networking opportunities, through development of an affiliate onboarding handbook to quickly and efficiently onboard new affiliate leaders, by conducting regular check-ins to see how best we can support our affiliates, through facilitating and overseeing grant opportunities, by coordinating, funding and delivering an annual affiliate conference, providing disaster relief support, coordinating special events and activities, and more. As a testament to the effectiveness of this initiative, affiliate leaders showed 90% agreement of the Autism Society's commitment, engagement and responsiveness to the affiliates. Specific accomplishments in 2023 include: -8,000 hours of direct support to affiliates.-attended 34 affiliate events throughout the year-supported 13 affiliates in-person to address strategic objectives-facilitated and led 17 meetings for the affiliate network related to updates and special-topic trainings.-provided a two-day intensive affiliate conference supporting program development, fundraising and organizational governance and administration attended by over 70 affiliate representatives.-provided individualized trainings to 10 affiliates-over 40 periodic affiliate check-ins.