Program areas at ASA
Autism core services:in 2022, the Autism Society of America's national helpline which operates from 9 am to 9 pm eastern standard time, monday through friday, and autismsource our national resource database accomplished the following:- supported over 8,892 constituents by phone and email with a 137% increase in total contacts from 2021-2022.- provided over 4,700 hours of service to those in need of information and supports - maintained over 30,000 Autism resource listings on www.autismsource.org, which were accessed by more than 50,000 users.- top areas of support issued include: navigating services, adult services, and diagnosis/evaluationcustomer service responses:- 49% of people who contacted the national helpline identify as a parent or caregiver to someone with Autism- 18% of people who contacted the national helpline identify as an adult on the Autism spectrum- 86% of individuals surveyed shared that they would contact us again and recommend the national helpline to family/friendsanonymous customer testimonials:- the information was very thorough, complete with links and how to understand it.- i am truly thankful for your help this is new to us, it's like a new world, i am truly blessed for the resources and for actually answering us back we have had no luck so thanks again.- i think i'm unbiased when i say that i was given extraordinary care and personal attention when comparing her service to the rest of the online and in person world. Not comparing it to the rest of the world it was of the highest quality.national programs: in 2022, national programs grew to develop national programs that meet key needs within the Autism community:first responder program: this program offers training to first responders, community education, and engagement opportunities to improve interactions between law enforcement and those with Autism. In 2022, we celebrated the launch of our safety task force which brings together diverse members of the Autism community with first responders and subject matter experts dedicated to improving safety for all.water and wandering program: this program offers wandering and drowning prevention training, water safety education, and training for swim instructors to increase access to effective learn-to-swim for individuals with Autism. In 2022, we celebrated the reauthorization of kevin & avonte's law and assumed a leadership role to provide training and technical assistance to all grantees of the federal kevin & avonte program: reducing injury and death of missing individuals with dementia and developmental disabilities.employment program: this program connects leaders at the intersection of Autism and employment to develop best practices, training, and community engagement to improve employment opportunities and outcomes in the Autism community. In 2022, we celebrated the launch of our employment task force and employment listening sessions.vaccine education initiative (vei): this program addresses the need for accessible healthcare through vaccine education, confidence, and accessibility. The vei is the first of our national programs to launch. In 2022, we piloted the vei and celebrated:- over 13,421 individuals served through education & community engagement- 8600 individuals served through community health education & engagement- over 1,252 healthcare professionals trained- 140 vei community programs held- 32 accessible vaccine clinics hosted throughout our affiliate pilot- 572 accessible vaccinations administered- 2335 vaccine kits distributed- 5270 viewers of our connect to protect facebook live series- 500 covid-19 testing kits distributedour affiliate relations and other asa team members provided the following supports for affiliates:- 6,500 hours of direct support to affiliates.- over 30 affiliate in-person visits throughout the year- over 150 affiliate check-ins, virtual trainings, crisis management support calls, and other support- over 20 toolkits, including marketing, vaccine education, employment, public policy, and operational support.- national hosted over 40 webinars focusing on monthly meetings, topical trainings, vaccine support, Autism acceptance month, and affiliate requested learning sessions.- hosted a three-day intensive affiliate conference supporting program development, fundraising and organizational governance and administration attended by over 70 affiliate representatives.
Public policy:in 2022, the Autism Society of America continued to meet with members of congress to educate them about legislative priorities for the Autism community. Our efforts led to additional funding for programs such as idea, early intervention, respite care, and dd act programs. This enhanced funding will better support individuals with Autism, empowering them to reach their full potential. In addition, legislative victories included passage of the able age adjustment act and an extension of money follows the person program. Bills to reauthorize kevin and avonte's law and the assistive technology act also passed in the final days of congress. These are all bills that were in our legislative goals for the 117th congress, finally, congress included language to authorize the food and drug administration (fda) to take action to ban electric shock devices. Using the Autism Society's action center, over 600 letters were sent to congress to educate members on this important issue. In total, 2,200 letters were emailed to members of congress on our legislative goals. Our advocates also attended the disability policy seminar in march of 2022. This event 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.at the state advocacy level, the Autism Society helped state advocates pass legislation to include Autism within the existing missing adult alert systems. A bill was signed into law in Ohio.
Education and awareness:in 2022, 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 644,500 facebook followers.- provided daily twitter posts to over 122,000 twitter followers.- 158k+ people engaged with national's posts and content on social media- facebook fundraising raised over $340,000 through donations and peer-to-peer impact.- facebook & twitter saw over 8.2 million impressions.- distributed a monthly newsletter to over 100,000 people.- over 440k new visitors viewed the Autism Society website.- 46,700 people visited our "what is Autism?" Resource pages.- approximately 1 million people accessed resources and education materials through our website.