How the Autism Society Can Help

The mission of the Autism Society—to improve the lives of all affected by autism—means that our services and programs must help people today. From the parent of a newly diagnosed child who doesn’t know where to turn, to a sibling of an adult on the spectrum who now finds himself in the position of primary caregiver, we are here to help.

Providing information, resources and support is at the core of our mission. Our national contact center provides one-to-one response to the thousands of individuals each year who call, email and write with their questions and concerns—or who just need someone to listen. An important component of our contact center is our online database, Autism Source, which includes more than 25,000 autism services and supports nationwide. Our program staff and strong chapter presence serve thousands of families each year who are searching for help in their journey with autism.

The Autism Society's website, one of the most visited sites on autism in the world, offers a wealth of validated and trusted information, including our State Resources pages, which include data on legislation, state services and community organizations for each state and territory. We also offer online courses about autism in general and on environmental health, and link to additional online learning opportunities provided by other autism organizations. We provide the autism community the latest federal and state legislative updates, and an opportunity to take action on pending legislation on our Vote4Autism site.

The Autism Society supports research that will help families living with autism today. Our two major research programs focus on the environmental triggers of autism (environmental factors that exacerbate health conditions) and a comprehensive, coordinated treatment guided research initiative to bring research and treatment together to help people now. Another important program, established in 2005, is our Safe and Sound initiative, which provides needed resources to the autism community on topics such as general safety, emergency preparedness and prevention, and risk management. Safe and Sound also offers information and training to first-responders—such as police offers, firefighters, and EMTs—who are usually first on the scene in an emergency situation.

Our grassroots beginnings and long history of finding solutions to help families, individuals and professionals make us the most trusted resource for the autism community. Please reach out to us by calling 1(800)3AUTISM or emailing info@autism-society.org.