Years ago, I served with a Marine who had received the Medal of Honor for heroism and leadership under fire in Vietnam. Between his example and his experience, he taught me a lot. What I remember most was his outlook on life and its challenges. If he were here, he’d be correcting me right now. “Mike, there is no such thing as a challenge. It’s just another opportunity to excel!” Welcome, all, to OAR 2019, our next opportunity to excel.
We just completed a year in which we moved past the $3.7 million mark in total research funding, introduced a highly successful webinar series, raised over $800,000 through our RUN FOR AUTISM program, released “Finding Your Way: A College Guide for Students on the Spectrum,” earned the highest score possible among the four-star autism charities according to Charity Navigator, and saw 29 individuals with autism find jobs through our Hire Autism efforts. You might think that there is no way to match that. In most years, that might be right, but not this year.
What does it mean to excel? Webster defines it as “to surpass in accomplishment or achievement.” Let’s use that definition to measure OAR’s 2019 “to do” list.
We took a running start by carrying three near-complete projects forward into this year: the new Operation Autism website, an updated “Life Journey Through Autism: A Guide for Military Families,” and the much anticipated Sex Ed for Self-Advocates, an online resource. Each would be “the” major accomplishment in any other year. Look for them in the next three months. Once they are completed, we will start updating our very first resource, “Life Journey Through Autism: A Parent’s Guide to Research” and publish that updated edition by the end of the year.
We will build on the momentum of the new webinar series by hosting a series of webinar events on topics you helped identify as high priority, including transitions, employment, and research. We will continue to deliver high-quality speakers that help parents prepare their children with autism for adulthood and allow autism professionals to participate in professional development opportunities relevant to their everyday mission.
In April, we will add more Spanish language resources to the list of available resources as we strive to once again surpass our annual outreach goals for the fourth consecutive year. We will also host the first ever Active for Autism 5K race on Sunday, April 14, in Alexandria, Va. If you live in the greater Washington, DC, area, come join us for the first in what is sure to become an OAR tradition every April.
In July, when we announce the Schwallie Family and Lisa Higgins Hussman scholarships, 50 young people with autism will directly benefit, and the $150,000 in awards will take us past the $1 million mark in total scholarship dollars since 2007.
As we roll into the fall, the annual Applied Research Competition will have advanced to its final phase. We’ll be down to 20 to 25 finalists from an initial field of 150 or more applicants from the United States and abroad. When the Scientific Council completes its rigorous examination in October, six to eight studies will have successfully run the review gauntlet. They will be the first to benefit from OAR’s new increased funding level, up to $40,000 per study. If we award eight grants as planned, we will move past the $4 million mark in total research funded.
Hire Autism, the adult employment initiative currently being tested in Northern Virginia, has an ambitious calendar for 2019. This month, we will begin recruiting our first cohort of five Hire Autism advocates, volunteers with real time work experience, who will help our job seekers navigate their job search. Those job seekers, and other self-advocates, will be able to take advantage of an online employment center that will be launched possibly as early as April.
In March, we will host a job workshop to introduce Northern Virginia high school students with autism to the future world of employment. Entitled ”Level Up: Tips and Tricks to Get Your First Job,” it will feature three sessions that will equip young job seekers to launch a job search, create a resume, and complete job applications. Hire Autism plans to host similar events in other locations throughout the area during the year.
On June 30, we will officially end the demonstration project, which in turn will signal the expansion of Hire Autism to selected sites beyond Northern Virginia in the second half of the year. All these things point toward our goal of 200 total hires by December 31. Of all of our 2019 opportunities, Hire Autism has its best opportunity to excel and help change the lives of individuals with autism.
This is what OAR’s year looks like in list form:
Comparing this to 2018, I’d say we will meet Webster’s definition. The only question I have is “What in the world will we do in 2020 to top this?” All I will have to do is remember what my old Marine leader and friend taught me and once again go forward looking for another opportunity to excel and serve the autism community well.
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