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How Your Donations Help Us

Since autism was first identified, there has been a long history of failed treatments and fads, levied on vulnerable individuals as well as on their families. From the scandal of the “refrigerator mother” theory, to the ongoing parade of “miracle cures” and “magical breakthroughs,” the autism community has been distracted by improbable theories about causation and treatments and parents and other providers have been distracted by a dizzying array of marketing ploys. As a result, individuals with autism have been denied the opportunity to realize their fullest potential.  

Since ASAT was established in 1998, it has been our goal to work toward adopting higher standards of accountability for the care, education, and treatment of all individuals with autism. Help us disseminate accurate, science-based treatment information with your donation today! Your donations will be used to:

• Develop a pediatrician awareness campaign to inform doctors about autism and research-supported educational treatments so their recommendations are guided by the best available science;
• Expand our presence internationally to reach global communities and families who have little support for evidence-based autism treatment;
• Widen our impact on the media’s portrayal of autism and its treatment by creating materials to disseminate to journalists about effective autism treatments and appropriate ways to communicate with a global audience; and
• Continue our efforts to focus on evaluating efficacy of and disseminating information about treatment and services across the lifespan.

Who are we?

ASAT is a not-for-profit organization of parents and professionals committed to improving the education, treatment, and care of people with autism. Our board of directors and advisory board are comprised of parents of individuals with autism and highly trained professionals and practitioners working in multiple disciplines, such as pediatricians, scientists, academicians, clinicians, educators, speech therapists, and financial experts. We also have dozens of additional volunteers who work tirelessly to support our mission. Collectively, we have hundreds of years of experience and training related to autism treatment. ASAT has the expertise to disseminate sound recommendations, share resources, and make a difference in the lives of individuals with autism and their families.

ASAT 2012 Highlights

• Created a part-time Executive Director position to manage the expansion of ASAT projects and services and to ensure that initiatives are carried out.
• Substantially increased our coverage of life span issues by adding content to our webpage and newsletter addressing topics related to adults with autism.
• Published 26 Media Watch letters in response to media stories regarding autism treatment encouraging consideration of the state-of-the-science in autism treatment.
• Added international content to the newsletter and increased the number of international newsletter subscribers…including individuals from over 80 countries!
• Completed a comprehensive review and update of the “Treatment Summaries” section of the ASAT website and established a goal for 2013 to propose an agenda for future research on ABA interventions for children with ASD.
• Increased our use of social media to reach families and professionals (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, You Tube and Fundly)...including garnering over 5,100 Facebook “Likes”!
• Successfully expanded our fundraising through our Dine-in-Deed program, a community event called Rock’n 4 Autism Awareness, business donation jars programs, and Team ASAT for the 2012 NYC Marathon.
• Following an electronic survey of readership opinions and interests, added new regular features to the SIAT newsletter, including Focus on Science, dedicated to discussing key scientific concepts and their relationship to marketing of autism treatments.
• Collaborated with Bilinguals Inc. and held a conference on autism treatment with about 130 participants.
• Increased SIAT newsletter subscription to over 7,000 individuals.
• Received two small grants from Provident Bank Foundation and BCB Community Bank to assist with our physician awareness program, including preparation of an upcoming media campaign. 
• Held the 2nd annual Rock'n 4 Autism Awareness concert in Hoboken, New Jersey. The event was a huge success with over one hundred businesses lending their support and raising $10,000 dollars to promote autism awareness.
• Developed a formal Externship program to provide opportunities for emerging professionals to be a part of ASAT’s mission. The initial Externship class was comprised of 5 individuals.
• Published 4 content-packed issues of the Science in Autism Treatment Newsletter, with each issue including covering topics of interest to families and professionals (e.g., Clinical Corner, Research Synopses).
• Refined our “How You Can Help” section on the website… and we hope you will consider helping (http://asatonline.org/about_asat/hych)!
• Held bimonthly board meetings by conference call to advance an aggressive 2013 strategic plan and had our annual, in-person board meeting in Newark, NJ in December to finalize this plan.

For more information, visit  http://asatonline.org/

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