OARacle Newsletter

OAR’s Peer Education Grants, launched in 2020, support projects that promote autism awareness and acceptance among K-12 public schools, nonprofits, communities, and libraries using OAR’s Kit for Kids peer education resources.  

This spring, OAR awarded $17,547 to support five projects. With these grants, OAR has helped educate more than 184,000 children through the Kit for Kids since 2012. OAR takes great delight in announcing the spring 2023 winners of the Peer Education Grant program.  

Congratulations to these grant recipients! 

Christine Altounian
Autism Acceptance and Inclusion at Carthay Elementary
Carthay Elementary School, Los Angeles, California 

Altounian, teachers, and staff from the Carthay Elementary School will incorporate and use both the Kit for Kids and Autism Tuned In programs as a part of their current school curriculum with the goal of improving peer connections among students. 

Kelly Miranda
Embracing Our Differences
Buffalo Ridge Elementary, Castle Pines, Colorado 

Miranda and the staff at Buffalo Ridge plan to incorporate the Kit for Kids program in each K-5 class. They will use the Kit for Kids materials and the additional materials to celebrate differences and promote acceptance and inclusion for all students.  

Alyssa Hansen
Autism Acceptance at Harrity Lower
Mastery Charter Harrity Elementary School, Philadelphia 

Serving both autistic and integrated classes, Hansen and the staff at the Master Charter Harrity Elementary School plan to curate and promote an interactive and engaging inclusivity curriculum. For K-5 students, this program will be shared with their families to continue the understanding and use of toolkits outside of classrooms.  

Jessica Lawson
Team Nick
Manchester Community Schools, Manchester, Michigan 

Lawson and district staff at Manchester Community School District will use the materials and grant resources to teach and promote autism education among staff while also fostering a culture of community acceptance and engagement with autistic students, their families, and neurotypical students in the district. 

Elizabeth Ringlee
Autistic Students and the Gifted
Ideal4Gifted, Longmeadow, Massachusetts 

Ringlee and Ideal4Gifted staff will incorporate OAR resources into their current curriculum to continue to impact their student-centered education programs. Ideal4Gifted staff plan to empower and educate students and their support network about autism’s intersection with giftedness by hosting a series of workshops and presentations for their students and families.  

Ranjit Koodali
Neurodiverse Adults Supporting Inclusive School Environments
Western Kentucky University

The WKU team will use autistic adults who are supported by LifeWorks@WKU as the consultants who implement the OAR program in local schools. The WKU team’s use of the Peer Education program will allow skilled participants interested in education or non-profit fields to improve their public speaking and service skills.

Submit an Application

Youth group organizers, parents, autism professionals, teachers, and administrators are eligible to apply for a grant ranging from $500 to $5,000. The next application period begins on April 17, 2023, for projects starting as early as September 1, 2023. Applications are due on June 26, 2023. 

OAR supports projects that use the Kit for Kids materials and Autism Tuned In program to increase autism awareness and acceptance. Example projects include awareness campaigns, workshops, and presentations. Eligible expenses include but are not limited to OAR’s peer education materials, print costs, honorariums and travel expenses for guest speakers, venue rental, and refreshments. 

For questions or comments, contact OAR at programs @ researchautism.org.