Building a World that Understands Autism

Our Mission: Autism Self-Advocacy

Meet the Founder
AVA

“To use principles of oratory and debate to improve communication skills among individuals with autism to enable them to better self-advocate for their needs into adult life.”

Much of autism research is focused on early childhood diagnosis and treatment.  However, families with autistic children also face the very real concern of providing for these individuals once they age out of school and transition into adult life.  This concern only increases with time, as caregivers confront solutions for adult autistic children when their own parents age and are no longer able to care for them.

An estimated one in 31 eight-year-olds in the United States has an autism diagnosis, according to the most recent data, up from one in 150 8-year-olds in 2000.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that while the most severe autism cases account for a small part of that increase, most of the surge reflects a rise in the number of higher-functioning people getting diagnosed.

Our mission is to adapt classic techniques in oratory and debate to the specific communication challenges faced by the autism community, using visual learning aids that have proven effective.

Self-advocacy is an important life skill for anyone.  The ability to be heard and understood is especially important for members of the autism community, whose caregivers can change over time.

It is our hope that the debate techniques in this workshop series will help improve the ability of neurodiverse youth and adults to communicate effectively so they can pursue as much independence as possible in adult life.