A few days ago, I covered what you could do to help during National Autism Awareness Month. Today, I want to talk about some of the nation’s top autism organizations.
We already touched briefly on both the Autism Society of America and the Autism Self Advocacy Network.
The Autism Society of America was founded “in 1965 by Dr. Bernard Rimland, Dr. Ruth Sullivan and many other parents of children with autism.”
The Autism Society holds national conferences and “exists to improve the lives of all affected by autism.” They have also helped pass some key legislation in recent years.
The Autism Self Advocacy Network, on the other other hand, was founded “in 2006 in response to the lack of representation of autistic voices in the national dialogue on autism.” The network is a non-profit and identifies itself with the principles of the disability rights movement.
Both sites are great places to look for information and help regarding rights, research, and resources.
There’s also the National Autism Association, which was founded in 2003. It’s a “parent run advocacy organization” and has a lot of great information on autism and safety.
The US Autism & Asperger Association is another great organization to check out. They have a lot of ongoing projects and conferences, as well as education, parent, and sibling programs.
Autism Speaks (also touched on briefly last post) focuses more on the individual. Their pages are full of personal stories and accounts.
Finally, there’s also the Autism Research Institute. The institute, like the Autism Society of America, was established by Dr. Bernard Rimland in the 60’s, and has gone on to play key roles in autism research and breakthroughs.
There are of course others, and an almost limitless amount of resources, but this should be a good starting point if you want to know more about autism.
