OARacle Newsletter

In partnership with the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P), OAR is pleased to announce the winners of the Community Grant Competition. This grant supports community members to design, develop, and distribute resources to positively improve the physical and mental health and quality of life of autistic individuals. Each recipient receives a one-time grant ranging between $1,000 and $10,000. This year, we are pleased to award $57,300 to support six winners identified out of 48 submissions.

Congratulations to this year’s Community Grant recipients!

Connecting Autism with Healthcare Awareness via Virtual Reality
Mark Theurer, Leanna Range-Norwood, & Liz Burke
nonPareil Institute, Plano, Texas

Mark Theurer, Director of Outsourcing Initiatives; Leanna Range-Norwood, Program Administrator; and Liz Burke, Grants Manager, will lead a team of nonPareil Institute’s adult students with autism to create, produce, and distribute a virtual reality (VR) application called AppointmentMentorVR. This app will provide individuals with autism spectrum disorder the ability to visit a doctor’s office through a digital virtual experience. Once completed, this VR simulation experience will be available for free download through the Steam digital market place and offer individuals on the autism spectrum a safe and effective way to build essential skills, reduce anxiety, and increase independence when it comes to navigating the healthcare system. This project will further nonPareil Institute’s mission of “Building Better Futures for Adults with Autism.”

Pathway to Wellness: Combating Obesity in the ASD Community
Jacqueline Caruso
Eden II Programs, Staten Island & Long Island, New York

With OAR’s grant, Eden II will launch the Pathway to Wellness program. This initiative aims to combat obesity in the autistic community by providing a comprehensive fitness and nutrition guide tailored to the unique needs of autistic individuals. The program will include downloadable resources, instructional videos, quarterly webinars (to be streamed live and recorded throughout 2025), and personalized consultations designed by Eden II’s clinical team of educators, behavior analysts, dieticians, and certified personal trainers.

COMPASS: Autism Training and Consultation Services
Justin Doughtery
Autism Action Partnership, Omaha, Nebraska

Justin Dougherty will lead a project team in providing autism-focused training and consultation services to a wide range of partners and community members, seeking to create more neuro-inclusive practices and spaces. Training is currently conducted in person but through this grant, videos will be created and accessible through an online learning system, which will significantly increase COMPASS’s capacity to meet the growing demand for its curriculum.

Bridging the Double-Empathy Problem: Autistic-Led Training for Primary Care (and More)
Mel Houser, M.D.
All Brains Belong VT, Montpelier, Vermont

All Brains Belong VT plans to create an Autistic Health Digital Resource Library, created by Autistic people. Featuring previously funded neuroinclusive healthcare training resource for physicians, interdisciplinary therapists, and health professions trainees, this resource will host 25+ hours of webinars and other health education materials for both patient and professional audiences to further bridge the Double Empathy Problem. These resources will include strategies patients can use within the healthcare setting. With informed input from 70 autistic people, these training will be offered in multiple different formats including video, text, and graphics. This project builds upon All Brains Belong’s first Community Grant project, “Everything is Connected to Everything: Improving the Healthcare of Autistic & ADHD Adults.“ 

Becoming an Autism-Informed Organization Curriculum
Brook Leighton
Autism Society of America, Rockville, Maryland

With the support of this grant, the Autism Society of America will launch “The Autism-Informed Organization” curriculum, a comprehensive course package designed to foster more inclusive workplaces for autistic individuals. The initiative will equip organizations with practical tools to create workplace environments where autistic employees can thrive. The curriculum’s six courses address key areas such as sensory processing, communication strategies, information processing and executive functioning support, and social inclusion, all backed by the latest research and lived experiences.

A Parent’s Guide to Profound Autism – Information, Interventions, and Common Concerns
Michael MacCormack
The National Autism Center at May Institute, Randolph, Massachusetts

The National Autism Center will create a Manual for the Parents of Profoundly Autistic Children with this grant. It will be the next in a series of manuals written and disseminated to respond to an identified need in the autism community and to fill a gap in the existing literature. The manual will be based on best practices and innovative research, including research conducted at May Institute and the National Autism Center, and will be designed to provide information in a readily accessible manner for families.

OAR congratulates each of these recipients and extends its gratitude to AIR-P for co-sponsoring this program. Applications for 2025 grants will open on Friday, October 11, 2024.  Find out more about recently published community grant resources from past grantees can be on OAR’s website.

If you have questions or comments, please contact us at 571-977-5391 or e-mail programs @ researchautism.org.