Service: 10 Autism Nonprofits to Support

by Mom It Forward on March 27th, 2012 | 1 Comment »

This week's Season of Serve challenge is to Help someone else do good works. You don't have to reinvent the wheel; find a person or nonprofit that's doing work you believe in and find a simple way to help. Since April is National Autism Awareness Month, I've decided to provide you with a list of 10 nonprofits that are doing some great work in autism awareness. They are ranked from one to ten, with one being the highest-ranked, according to the number and quality of reviews provided at GreatNonprofits.org. In general, you can support any of these nonprofits with small donations of time or money, or even just by subscribing to their e-newsletters or hosting small events.

10 Autism Nonprofits to Support

Westchester Jewish Community Services offers individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities a range of clinical and residential services to enable them to reach their highest potential. They provide group residences and supervised apartments for high functioning young adults to foster independence and socialization.
Alpine Learning Group. Their mission is to provide learners with autism and their families comprehensive, scientifically-validated educational and behavioral services designed to foster individual growth and personal achievement.
A Touch of Understanding's mission is to encourage acceptance and respect for all individuals. They offer educational programs designed to increase understanding of differences, thereby minimizing discrimination and social isolation suffered by children and adults who are perceived as different for any reason, but especially those with disabilities.
Kind Tree - Autism Rocks celebrates people on the autism spectrum through art, recreation and community.
Organization for Autism Research funds studies that examine the efficacy of current treatments and methodologies.
Quality Services for the Autism Community seeks is to help individuals with an autism spectrum disorder to live meaningful and fulfilled lives in society.
Snack and Friends seeks to fill a void in the lives of children, ages 3-18, with autism spectrum disorders and other similar developmental and behavioral disabilities by providing after-school and weekend recreational programs designed and staffed to address their needs.
RE Spectrum Community was developed to assist and guide families in creating change, both within their immediate families and among the autism community, through therapeutic support, recreation, and community activities for the whole family.
Pacific Autism Center for Education's mission is to provide programs for individuals with autism and its related developmental disabilities, so they may experience the satisfaction and fulfillment that accompany learning, self expression, self-care, productive work and interpersonal and community experiences.
Advisory Board on Autism and Related Disorders offers autism autism support groups, resources, conferences and events, information on applying for medical assistance and health insurance, and information on autism treatments and research studies.

This list is far from comprehensive; there are so many organizations doing such great work in so many facets of autism care. If there are others that you know, please feel free to comment here about your experience with them.

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

Have you ever done any of these things? How did it go?
What other acts of service have inspired you?
How have others given to you this week and what difference has that made in your life?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Season?

Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.