The Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership

Peer Support Group Program: We provide in-person and online weekly and monthly peer support and activities groups with trained facilitators that serve teens and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders, parents and families, siblings, and partners. The groups in total serve approximately 3,500 members monthly with topics and activities related to independent living skills, daily living skills, employment, relationships and family, education, among others. The individuals range in age from 14-81 and are from diverse linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Individual and Family Education Program: We assist both individuals and families with individual education plan (IEP), individual service plan (ISP), person centered planning PCP), and vocational support by reviewing provided documentation, making informed recommendations, and attending related in-person meetings to address individual, family, teacher, and administrator suggestions for current, future, and transition planning. Our education and policy-specific trained staff members assisted 156 individuals and families during the fiscal year, including those from diverse linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Information and Referral Services: We provide information and referral services for all individuals, families, professionals, and support staff who require resources related to autism specific support groups, clinicians, disability services, disability advocacy, and general assistance in their residential location regionally, nationally, and globally. Our trained staff assisted 3,408 individual contacts during the fiscal year with autism related requests through our general email account, our website contact form, toll-free phone service, Facebook messages, Twitter replies, and LinkedIn contacts. Additionally, we send informational email newsletters to our membership of over 20,000 people notifying them of resources in various locations across the U.S. and Canada.

Community Outreach Services Program: We provide community outreach services consisting of agency, university, research, and business collaborations for autism and disability related advocacy and policy strategic planning, public service announcements on quality-of-life initiatives, and consistent social media and online programming devoted to accurate information and education for individuals with autism, families, clinicians, and professionals. During the fiscal year, we supplied over 1,850 informational and educational posts reaching over 625,000 across our media platforms. Included here is additional program services expenses for all other aspects of organizational function.