Press Release

Arlington, VA, April 11, 2025  – The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) is excited to announce the winners of the spring 2025 Peer Education Grant competition. This cycle, OAR has awarded fourteen grants totaling $40,730.17 to teach nearly 14,000 students about autism.

Since 2012, OAR has helped educate more than 250,000 students and peers about autism through the Kit for Kids peer education program. OAR continues its commitment to educating students by awarding grants ranging from $500 to $10,000 through this program. The funded projects will be led by teachers, administrators, parents, youth group organizers, and autism professionals who plan to teach today’s youth about autism in school or other community-based settings.

“When children understand autism, they’re more likely to become allies and friends to their autistic peers,” says OAR’s Executive Director, Kristen Essex. “OAR’s Peer Education program helps to foster autism acceptance and understanding from an early age, and I am excited to see so many projects creating spaces where all children feel seen, understood, and included.”

Over the past year, OAR expanded the peer education grant funding through the support of  Jewelers for Children (JFC), a nonprofit founded by the US jewelry industry dedicated to helping children in need. In 2024, JFC donated $100,000 to support OAR’s programs, including the peer education program. With this generous donation, the past two application cycles have included larger grants focused on peer education across school districts. Since 2018, JFC has donated $395,000 to OAR to benefit autistic children.

Congratulations to the 14 grant recipients!

Shaina Casey and Niki Bahri
Spot the Spectrum
Loma Linda University – School of Behavioral Health, Loma Linda, California

Casey and Bahri will use the peer education materials to host educator sessions. They aim to promote autism awareness and inclusivity among K-3 students and educators in San Bernardino County using the Autism Tuned In curriculum and Kit for Kids resources. The program, Spot the Spectrum, includes educator training, interactive classroom presentations, and a hands-on art activity celebrating diversity.

Brandy Cooper
2025 Summer Inclusion
YMCA of Metropolitan Columbus GA, Columbus, Georgia

Cooper and other YMCA counselors will use the Kit for Kids and Autism Tuned In website as foundational components of their weekly small group discussions, segmented by age, to increase autism acceptance throughout the larger Columbus area throughout the summer months and beyond.

Monica Fernandez
Autism Acceptance Week at Sumner Danbury
Sumner Danbury Elementary School, Claremont, California

Fernandez and the teachers at Sumner Danbury will use the Kit for Kids as an essential component of the school’s commitment to cultivating an environment of acceptance, inclusion, mindfulness, and kindness. The planned program will be part of the school’s messaging and will serve as a bridge to activities featured in April and beyond.

Amy Fitzsimmons
Smith Peer-to-Peer and Autism Acceptance
Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, Plymouth, Michigan

Fitzsimmons will use the Kit for Kids to teach students in kindergarten through 5^th grade about their autistic peers. The goal is for students and staff to understand autism, the uniqueness of each individual, and how to support individuals with autism.

Jennifer Gregory
Sensory Hangouts
Harriet Treem Elementary School, Henderson, Nevada

Gregory and the Treem School faculty will serve K-5 students by creating an inclusive sensory room for meet-ups. Students will participate in multi-sensory activities throughout the year focused on social skills and understanding autism. Each meet-up will incorporate the Kit for Kids materials to promote understanding, acceptance, and celebration of diversity among the student population.

Sadia Heil
Inclusion Starts at Island Creek!
Island Creek Elementary School, Alexandria, Virginia

Using the Kit for Kids, teachers will incorporate encouraging dialogue, interaction, and shared experiences among neurodivergent and neurotypical peers. The goal is to foster an inclusive learning environment by nurturing empathy, reducing stigma, and promoting lasting friendships among students.

Karin Jinbo
MVWSD Autism Awareness Month
Mountain View Whisman School District, Mountain View, California

Jimbo and other school staff will use the Kit for Kids in their programming, which seeks to teach and engage students about autism awareness. Mountain View Whisman School District will celebrate neurodiversity by using the Kit for Kids in K-8 classrooms. A team of school counselors at each the 11 schools in the district will implement lessons and activities. Teachers will utilize explicit instruction with the goal of observing and recognizing the behaviors and actions that demonstrate welcoming and promote belonging.

Megan Keller
Promoting Autism Awareness and Acceptance Among a School Community
NYC DOE PS 145, Brooklyn, New York

PS 145 will use the Kit for Kids materials to educate K-5 students and staff about autism, fostering a more inclusive and supportive school community. Teachers and staff will integrate these resources into lessons and daily interactions to promote empathy, acceptance, and advocacy. By using the Kit for Kids, PS 145 aims to create a school culture where all students feel valued, included, and empowered to embrace neurodiversity.

Sharika Kellogg
Passport to Success
Sounds of Success Music Corp., Riviera Beach, Florida

Kellogg and Sounds of Success Music Corp. will use the Kit for Kids materials to continue serving the youth in the Riviera Beach area. The team plans to utilize the materials to teach the youth within their program about inclusivity, bridging a critical gap that a lack of autism support resources has left. Neurotypical students will be reached within the program, along with those with ASD, fostering mutual understanding and acceptance through the resources and music.

Krisha Neupane
Stop the Stigma Campaign
Autism Aware Inc., Cumming, Georgia

Autism Aware Inc. will use the Kit for Kids materials to reach students in grades K-5 and teach them about autism. Highlighting the uniqueness of autism, Autism Aware hopes to end the stigma around autism and promote kindness.

Vaughn Pitts
Agape For Autism
Agape Children’s Museum, Long Beach, California

Pitts and others at the museum will use the Kit for Kids materials as part of a program that will facilitate genuine acceptance and appreciation for autistic kids through May.

Whitney Price
Autism Awareness to Acceptance
UnPuzzled Parents Connect, Parkersburg, West Virginia

Price and her team will offer the Kit for Kids and other resources to West Virginia’s Wood, Ritchie, and Doddridge counties to foster autism awareness and create a more inclusive environment for students with autism.

Anna Scheffey-Hohle
K-8th Grade Peer Education Curriculum
Odessa-Montour Central School District, Odessa, New York

The district’s social emotional learning team will use the Kit for Kids to raise awareness and promote acceptance among K-8 students and help them understand the experiences of their peers. The goal is to foster a more inclusive environment and build lasting friendships.

Nicole Benamati Shull
Oak Grove Elementary School – Peer Education Program
Oak Grove Elementary School, Lexington, South Carolina

Teachers at Oak Grove Elementary School plan to use the Kit for Kids materials throughout the grades in a classroom format to raise awareness about autism. The goal is to educate students about autism while also making them more compassionate leaders for the future.

For inquiries regarding the Peer Education Grant program or for more information on the next grant cycle, please visit the website or contact OAR at 571-977-5391; e-mail programs@researchautism.org.

About OAR. The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) is a national non-profit organization formed and led by relatives of children and adults with autism. OAR is dedicated to promoting research that can be applied to help families, educators, caregivers, and individuals with autism find much-needed answers to their immediate and urgent questions. Learn more at www.researchautism.org.