News and Knowledge

Happy New Year! It’s that time of year when folks set new personal goals and challenges. The tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions can be traced back over 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. OAR can trace its resolutions to 2001, the year we were founded. Now 16 years old and having reveled in our 2017 accomplishments, OAR is setting its sights high for 2018. OAR plans to kick off the New Year with some exciting new projects. Here is a preview of what you can expect to see over the next several months:

• Autism Outreach Campaign: Every year, OAR leverages the attention that the autism community receives during April’s National Autism Awareness Month by supporting autism partners across the United States as they prepare to launch their local efforts. This year is no exception. OAR will deliver more than 5,000 resources to self-advocates, their educators, parents, and other professionals in the field. OAR will unveil all of the details in the February newsletter.
• Operation Autism: Many individuals affected by autism lack adequate care, services, and support, which negatively impacts their overall mental health and social development. This couldn’t be truer for military children affected by autism, as the transient and often unpredictable lifestyle runs counter to their need for stability. Additionally, the military health system has rolled out major Tricare benefit reforms starting in January 2018, which will likely cause further confusion regarding access to autism services. OAR aims to address these complex needs by updating its military guide for families and redesigning its companion website, OperationAutism. If you or anyone you know is interested in being involved, please contact programs@researchautism.org.
• Sex Education Guide: OAR is developing a new resource tool to help people with autism navigate sex education and better understand sexuality. This is an important subject in terms of personal growth, development, and safety, but it can also be a daunting one. We are excited to create a resource on this topic that is specific to the needs of people with autism. While it will include tips for families and educators, the bulk of the resource is designed for use by self-advocates age 14 and up. Self-advocates will be able to read articles and practice skills through interactive modules on topics including healthy relationships, dating, privacy, puberty, and more. Unlike OAR’s other resources, this resource will be entirely web-based. Look for this new resource by early June.
• Webinars: Since 2011, OAR has sponsored conferences across the nation, delivering thousands of information resources along the way. While that one-to-one face time was valuable, OAR plans to implement a new webinar program in place of its Conference-on-the-Road program. The webinar program will continue to help bridge the gap between members of the autism and research communities. The webinars will feature notable presenters from OAR’s network of experts on research, safety, adulthood, employment, and more.
• Research Funding: OAR’s mission is to fund research studies that have the potential to improve the lives of those affected by autism. To that end, OAR will fund six to eight pilot studies at the $30,000 level and 10 graduate research grants at the $1,000 to $2,000 level.
• Scholarships: OAR’s greatest evidence of fulfilling its mission to change lives can be seen in the hundreds of scholarships it has awarded since 2007. Through the Schwallie Family Scholarship Program and the Lisa Higgins Hussman Scholarship, OAR plans to award up to 40 scholarships to students with autism pursuing full-time, post-secondary, undergraduate education or vocational-technical training. The application period is open now.
• Hire Autism: OAR’s Hire Autism employment initiative will continue its mission to help improve employment outcomes for individuals with autism. First, it will complete its demonstration project in Northern Virginia by June 2018. OAR’s goals are to have at least 25 employers engaged and 35 applicants in positions by the end of June. In addition, OAR will introduce a new program, Hire Autism Advocates, people with workplace experience who will assist Hire Autism job seekers in their job search.
• RUN FOR AUTISM: Following the success of the 2017 season, the RUN FOR AUTISM program aims to make 2018 one of the best in the 15-year history of the program. While partnering with major marathons will continue to be a focus, we also plan to expand to include triathlons in 2018. Our goal for the upcoming year is to bring in over 700 athletes and raise over $725,000 in support of autism research.

We wish you the best of luck in achieving your personal goals and that you continue to stay actively involved with us throughout 2018; nothing that we achieve and aspire to do is possible without your continued dedication and support. If you wish to learn more or be involved in any of these initiatives or programs, contact OAR at oar@researchautism.org.