Each year, OAR lays out ambitious goals for engaging community members in celebration of Autism Acceptance Month. Throughout the beginning of this year, OAR staff worked with parents, educators, autism professionals, autistic individuals, and employers to support their local initiatives and promote autism acceptance. Thanks to the dedication of community partners like you, OAR helped foster meaningful awareness and acceptance in communities across the country.
OAR is proud to offer a wide range of free informational resources for the autism community. On our website, you’ll find resources for parents, self-advocates, siblings, educators, health professionals, and more.
OAR’s goal was to distribute 50,000 informational resources to the autism community by the end of April.
Results: Between January and April, OAR exceeded its goal by distributing over 63,000 informational resources to autism community members nationwide.
OAR’s Libby library has over 250 e-books and audiobooks about autism that users can access for free on their personal devices for leisure or educational reading. The library includes popular novels, autobiographies, guidebooks, clinical texts, kids’ books, and more, covering a wide range of topics of interest to the autism community. Readers can also access OAR’s published works through the library.
OAR’s goal was to engage 350 readers through Libby, including 300 new readers, and generate a total of 700 checkouts by the end of April.
Results: OAR surpassed its goals by engaging over 770 Libby readers, including 736 new readers, and generating a total of 2,261 checkouts between January and April.
OAR’s Hire Autism program offers free resources for job seekers, employers, and those who are supporting a friend, student, or loved one with their job search. These resources include, but are not limited to, one-on-one virtual job search mentorship, unlimited posting, access to our job board, our employment resource center with information on job searching, resume writing, interviewing, and more.
OAR’s goal was to recruit 15 new Hire Autism navigators and support more than 15 autistic job seekers in securing employment by the end of April.
Results: Between January and April, OAR received 23 Hire Autism navigator applications and supported seven autistic job seekers in securing employment.
RUN FOR AUTISM, OAR’s signature fundraising program aims to raise $1,200,000 this year through 1,100 athletes dedicating their 2026 miles to autism research.
RUN FOR AUTISM’s goal was to raise $80,000 by the end of April through the Active for Autism 5k and Kids Dash, enough to fund a new OAR research study and support OAR’s mission to apply research to the challenges of autism.
Results: RUN FOR AUTISM went over the top and raised $145,000 and engaged over 1,000 athletes during the month of April.
OAR’s successes through our Autism Acceptance Month Campaign reveal the passion of the autism community and the dedication of OAR’s supporters. Thank you again to our fantastic community for all the work you do to increase autism acceptance and keep up the momentum year-round!
If you are looking to stay involved in any of the above initiatives, contact info@researchautism.org.
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