OARacle Newsletter

As OAR’s executive director, I have the honor of witnessing our community’s commitment to autistic individuals and their families each year. I see it in the students who receive scholarships, in the families who use our guidebooks, and in the researchers who take bold ideas forward. I also see it in advocates, educators, employers, and community members who stand alongside autistic individuals every day.

At OAR, we believe research should never sit on a shelf. It should change lives. Support from people like you turns that belief into meaningful action. With help from our community of donors, partners, and volunteers, the studies we fund advance knowledge and create practical resources that improve daily life for autistic individuals worldwide.

One of the best examples of that impact is the PEERS® for Young Adults program, which gives autistic young adults the tools to form friendships, build confidence, and connect with others in their communities. In 2007, OAR was the first organization to fund a crucial study evaluating the program’s effectiveness, led by Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson at UCLA. At the time, it was an ambitious idea in need of evidence. OAR stepped in and made that possible.

That early investment gave Dr. Laugeson the foundation she needed to grow the PEERS® program into a social skills intervention with the one of the biggest evidence bases in the world. As Dr. Laugeson herself shared: “OAR played a pivotal role in supporting my work evaluating the effectiveness of the PEERS® for Young Adults program, which thanks to their early investment, is now used in more than 150 countries and has been translated into over a dozen languages. Without their support, this work would not have been possible, and I encourage others to give generously to OAR to support this kind of impactful autism research.”

The results from Dr. Laugeson’s work have been life-changing. Young adults who once felt isolated are now building meaningful friendships, gaining confidence to date, and developing professional skills to succeed in the workplace. Across communities and cultures, PEERS® helps autistic individuals connect, belong, and thrive.

Community support also fuels impact beyond research. This year, it helped provide families and educators with new resources, secure employment opportunities for autistic adults, and grow our peer education initiatives that foster acceptance in schools nationwide. Together, these programs bring knowledge, opportunity, and hope to the autism community.

And there is more ahead. OAR will continue driving innovative research and expanding the practical programs that make a real difference in classrooms, workplaces, and communities. You can help make that possible. Explore and share our free resources, introduce OAR to your school or workplace, take part in research as a participant or partner, and, most importantly, consider making a financial gift to sustain and grow this work. Every donation, of any size, directly supports programs that help autistic individuals and their families today.

Together, we can turn bold ideas into life-changing resources for the autism community. If you believe in a future where research leads to greater understanding, acceptance, and opportunity for every autistic individual, we invite you to take action now. Your gift helps fund the next study, the next guidebook, the next resource that will change someone’s life. Thank you for standing with OAR and for investing in a more inclusive and informed future.