The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) is a national non-profit organization formed and led by relatives of children and adults with autism spectrum disorders. OAR is dedicated to promoting research that can be applied to help families, educators, caregivers, and individuals with autism find much-needed answers to their immediate and urgent questions.
OAR’s mission is to apply research to the challenges of autism.
________________________________________________________
Programs and Accomplishments
• Funded more than $3 million for new autism research: 85 grants/$2,925,000 for pilot studies and $143,000 in grants to 78 graduate students,
• Awarded $359,500 in scholarships to persons with autism attending college or vocational-technical schools,
• Published seven guides in the Life Journey through Autism series
• Created Operation Autism, www.operationautismonline.org, a Web site that provides military families impacted by autism with information 24/7,
• Evolved the Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference, held annually from 2003 – 2010, into a successful “Research to Practice†Conference-on-the Road model,
• Introduced the “Autism in the School House†program built around the Kit for Kids Peer Education Initiative and Understanding Autism: A Guide for Secondary Teachers, a one-hour curriculum on DVD that informs teachers about best practices for teaching students with autism.
________________________________________________________
Near Term Objectives
• Fund ten new research studies ($300,000 in total grants) in 2013
• Partner with two autism organizations through the Conference-on-the-Road program
• Award 9 grants ($18,000) in the Graduate Research Grants Program
• Award 22 more OAR scholarships to individuals with autism attending college
• Continue and expand the highly successful Kit for Kids Peer Education Initiative
• Create an e-learning module built around the Kit for Kids resources for K-8 students.