News and Knowledge

Throughout the weeks leading up to April, we asked you to get involved in helping OAR support individuals with autism one family, school, and community at a time. Collectively, our supporters responded in a big way. OAR will provide a full update in the May issue of The OARacle, but here is a brief snapshot of our campaign accomplishments to date:

• Distributed 791 Life Journey through Autism resource guides to parents, educators, and professionals, 1,039 copies of A Guide to Safety, and 1,035 copies of our sibling resources
• Provided the Kit for Kids peer education program to 159 schools across the United States and in Canada
• Engaged three volunteers for OAR’s Autism Employment Initiative

The planning for this campaign began long before April, and it is our hope that the impact will carry forward through 2015.

But OAR’s efforts will not stop at the end of April, and we hope you will stay involved too. When it comes to addressing the needs of the autism community, staying involved is a key factor to success. Although many autism parents are well equipped with the information and supports necessary to make decisions about their child’s education and health, others still need information and support. While plenty of educators who have an abundance of classroom resources and strategies to address the needs of their students with autism, others, sometimes including entire districts, still need access to autism resources and teacher trainings.

The steps you take don’t have to involve whole school districts. Even something as easy as letting a neighbor know about a resource is a positive change that improves lives. The Buddy Bash campaign page is a great place to start if you’re looking for ideas. For more information, please contact OAR at 703-243-9710 or programs@researchautism.org.